The extraordinary event, which did not occur in the morning as usual, finally occurred at 17:40 (local time) on December 16, the anniversary of his intervention to prevent the effects of an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1631.
The faithful in the city of Naples, Italy experienced deep relief when they witnessed the flowing of the blood of St. Januarius, the miracle that kept the city in suspense during the day of December 16.
The extraordinary event, which did not occur in the morning as usual, finally occurred at 17:40 (local time) in Naples Cathedral.
Since 9:00 a.m., Father Gregorio Vincenzo had exposed the reliquary containing the saint’s blood to the faithful, but it remained solid until the afternoon.
After the miracle, the liquid blood of the city’s patron saint was brought to the cathedral’s treasury chapel, where a holy mass was celebrated.
The miracle consists in the mass of blood adhering to one side of the ampoule turning into completely liquid blood and covering the entire glass.
This extraordinary event has occurred since 1389 on three occasions: every September 19, on the saint’s feast day; on December 16, the anniversary of his intervention to prevent the effects of an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1631; and on the Saturday before the first Sunday in May, to commemorate the transfer of his remains to Naples.
Tradition says that on December 16, 1631, the faithful of Naples carried the relics of their patron saint in a procession to prevent the eruption of Mount Vesuvius from destroying the city. During the procession, the lava miraculously stopped. Since then, this event has been known as the “Miracle of the Laymen”.
The liquefaction process sometimes takes hours or even days, and sometimes it doesn’t happen at all, which the Neapolitans interpret as a bad omen, which happened in 1939, before the outbreak of World War II.
The Catholic Church believes that the miracle, without scientific explanation, occurs thanks to the devotion and prayers of the faithful.
With the exclamation, “the miracle has happened!”, the faithful go to the altar to kiss the relic and sing Te Deum in thanksgiving, after the Archbishop of Naples, Cardinal Domenico Battaglia, has walked around the church with the relic.
This story was published first by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and edited by CNA.
