Miracle: Blood of Saint Januarius liquifies during Francis’s visit to Naples

News excerpt and photo from CatholicHerald.co.uk

The blood of St Januarius liquified in the presence of a pope for the first time since 1848 on Saturday.

The blood of the patron saint of Naples, which is normally solid, partially liquified after Pope Francis kissed the relic during his day trip to the southern Italian city.

According to AFP, Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe of Naples showed the vial to the congregation in the city’s cathedral, saying: “The blood has half liquified, which shows that St Januarius loves our Pope and Naples.”

Pope Francis responded: “The bishop just announced that the blood half-liquified. We can see the saint only half loves us. We must all spread the word, so that he loves us more!”

The blood last liquified for a pope in the presence of Pius IX. The phenomenon did not occur when St John Paul II visited Naples in 1979 and Benedict XVI visited the city in 2007.

Read more: Saint Januarius Miracle

San Gennaro 'miracle' repeated in Naples

News excerpt and photo from GazzettaDelSud

Naples, September 19 - The Miracle of San Gennaro was repeated on Thursday when the blood of Naples' patron saint liquefied at 9:41 Italian. A huge crowd of faithful, who had been pouring into the city's cathedral and the square outside from the early hours of the day, greeted the announcement of the miracle recurrence with warm applause.

Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, the Archbishop of Naples, held up a phial containing the blood of the 3rd-century saint while a traditional white handkerchief was waved.

The miracle takes place on the anniversary of the martyrdom of San Gennaro (St. Januarius) in September 305 AD. The dried blood of the saint is preserved in two glass phials and traditionally liquefies three times a year, the Church says, thanks to the devotion and prayers of the faithful. Aside from the anniversary of the saint's beheading, the miracle also takes place on December 16 to commemorate the 1631 eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, believed to have been halted by the saint's intervention, and again on the Saturday before the first Sunday in May. On this occasion, there is a procession through the city's streets to recall the many times the relics have been moved over the centuries. 

A group of Italian scientists has analysed the contents of the phials, establishing that they do contain blood, but have been unable to explain the phenomenon.

Read More: San Genaro Miracle