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Joanna Belechak

Mr. Clark

Honors English 12

March 9, 2018

The Blood of Saint Januarius

A. The Blood of Saint Januarius

Saint Januarius is a Catholic martyr and the patron of blood banks, Naples, and volcanic

eruptions. Little is known about his life. He was the Bishop of Benevento, Italy during the

persecution of the Christians ordered by the Emperor Diocletion. As the bishop, he went to

prisons visiting Christians. After visiting two deacons and two laymen in prison, he too ended up

arrested and imprisoned. Saint Januarius and his companions were thrown to wild beasts in the

amphitheater of Pozzuoli, but he animals failed to attack him. Due to the failed attempt, he ended

up being beheaded at the volcanic crater Solfatara in c. 305. The body of Saint Januarius was

taken back to Naples, where it is believed that a woman named Eusebia saved the blood of the

bishop in two vials (franciscanmedia.org). Since then, the blood of Januarius has been a

prominent piece of Church history. It is venerated by the faithful due to the reoccurring

liquefaction of this blood.

The liquefaction of Saint Januarius’s blood continues to be a ritual and miracle of the

Catholic Church today. Since his death, the dried blood miraculously becomes liquid at frequent

intervals. Official documentation of the miracle has been kept since 1389. Today, the blood of

Saint Januarius is still kept in two vials that are placed behind the altar of the Chapel of the

Treasure of San Gennaro in Naples, Italy. Three times a year — September 19th, December

16th, and the first Sunday in May — the blood is removed from its shrine, and the faithful rush
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to witness the liquefaction of blood. All city officials attend the ceremony, including the mayor,

the President of Naples, and the President of Campania (italyheritage.com). Only on these days

are the vials exposed to the the public, allowing the miracle to be spectated. The officiant recites

the Prayers of the Faithful, and usually within a span of two minutes to an hour, the dried blood

gradually detaches itself from the sides of the vials and become a bubbling, foaming liquid. The

faithful may go to the altar and venerate the vessels (newadvent.org). The liquefaction has rarely

failed to occur during the presentation of the vessels in May or September. Oppositely, the blood

remains dry more frequently than not during the December ceremony. It is said that when the

blood fails to liquefy, something tragic will happen to the city of Naples that year. When it did

not liquify in 1528, the Spanish claimed the city of Naples and the volcano, Campi Flegrei,

erupted and caused a large volcanic crater to form. Then, after a failed liquefaction in 1980,

Naples was struck with a 6.9 magnitude earthquake (historicmysteries.com). The blood is also

said to spontaneously become fluid in instances such as papal visits.

B. Relics: What’s the Big Deal?

Relics provide Catholics with physical examples of the Church throughout history. They

are broken down into three classes:

First class relics are the body or fragments of the body of a saint, such as pieces of bone

or flesh. Second class relics are something that a saint personally owned, such as a

shirt or book (or fragments of those items). Third class relics are those items

that a saint touched or that have been touched to a first, second, or another

third class relic of a saint (mariagoretti.com).

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Relics are not meant to be honored, not worshipped. Saint Jerome explains the reason for relics

saying, “We do not worship, we do not adore, for fear that we should bow down to the creature

rather than to the Creator, but we venerate the relics of the martyrs in order the better to adore

Him whose martyrs they are” (classicalchristianity.com). They are reminders and mementos of

the saints, the work of the saints, and the holiness of the saints. They are inspirations for the

people of the Church to grow in holiness themselves. The presence of relics allows people to ask

for the prayers and intercessions of a saint, so that they might too receive the grace from God to

join in living the same kind of faith-filled lives (ewtn.com).

A majority of the first churches built in the Roman Empire were place over the graves of

martyrs. The churches would be named after that martyr, and they were to be an intercessor for

those who worshipped there. Churches have continued to be named after and dedicated to the

saints. Each church will place some relic of the patron inside the altar (thoughtco.com).

Individuals may choose to visit a certain location depending on which saint’s relics are located

there. For instance, if a woman was experiencing a difficult pregnancy, she could go to Saint

Gerard’s Chapel, where a relic of Saint Gerard, the patron saint of expectant mothers and unborn

children, is held. If someone is sick, they could visit a relic of the patron of their specific illness

and ask for that saint’s intercession so that they might be healed, freed from pain, etc. Many

times, people report the graces they have received through the intercession. Miracles are also

said to occur in the presence of relics.

C. Authenticity: How Do We Know?

Counterfeit relics have been an issue since the Middle Ages. In a time where most

people were illiterate and therefore could not read the Bible, holy items were used to help people
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develop and understanding of the history of the Church and the people who built it. Buying these

objects was highly desirable because they could bring wealth to the people or cities that had

them. However, due to the increase in fake items, the Church began to regulate the use of relics,

the placement of relics, and who can be in possession of the different classes of relics.

The Church is very cautious and precise in their investigation and approval of holy relics.

Therefore, the authentication process for relics is long, though it is often hard to find concrete

proof that a relic is totally authentic. Msgr. Charles Pope sums it up by saying,

In a direct sense we cannot, if by certainty is meant direct physical and documented

evidence of the origin of the bone, traced directly to the known burial site of the

saint. However, indirect evidence may exist in the documented handing down of

the relic from antiquity. Another indirect evidence of authenticity is the healings

and conversions that the relic brings by God’s grace (osv.com).

Those who verify relics do so with as much care and consideration possible, and they use all the

evidence they have. Ultimately, the object’s credibility can only be based on the miraculous

events and faithful encounters that people share.

Not only do the objects have to be approved, but they must also come from a holy person

that has been approved. According to Canon 1187 from the Code of Canon Law, “It is permitted

to reverence through public veneration only those servants of God whom the authority of the

Church has recorded in the list of the saints or the blessed” (vatican.va). Relics can only be

publicly displayed if they have supporting documentation. The object must be sealed in a

reliquary with a certificate of authentication signed and sealed by a postulator. Not only do they

have to be verified, but if anyone produces or deliberately sells, distributes, or displays false

relics for veneration they are likely to be excommunicated from the church (legatus.org).
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D. Conclusion: What to Take Away from The Blood of Januarius

The blood of Januarius is one of many examples of the continuous miracles and total

mysteries of the Church. Scientists have tried to debunk the relic, theorizing that the vials

contained chemicals that change the condition of the blood when it is stirred or that the vials do

not actually contain blood but a different liquid that resembles blood. Yet, every time the blood

of Saint Januarius is analyzed, it is recorded that the substance is, in fact, contain blood cells

(historicmysteries.com). The blood of Saint Januarius is considered just a small fraction of God’s

wondrous works on Earth. Human beings are still able to be near the remains of this holy man in

2018 when he died around 305. Like other relics, the blood allows people to remember Saint

Januarius and other saints and martyrs of the faith. Knowing that these men and women actually

walked this Earth, remembered by the pieces of them that still remain visible to people today,

people are inevitably inspired to try to live like them and achieve faithfulness and a powerful

relationship with God.

Works Cited

“About Relics.” Pilgrimage of Mercy, Treasures of the Church, mariagoretti.com/about-relics/.

Harper, Jim. “Saint Januarius and the Predictions of His Blood Miracle.” Historic Mysteries, 9
May 2011, www.historicmysteries.com/the-blood-miracle-of-saint-januarius/.
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Humphries, Thomas. “Top 10 Odd Religious Relics.” Listverse, 11 Aug. 2012, listverse.com/
2012/08/11/top-10-odd-religious-relics/.

Miller, Don. “Saint Januarius.” Franciscan Media. 12 Sept. 2017, www.franciscanmedia.org/

saint-januarius/.

Pope, Charles. “Authenticity of Relics.” Authenticity of Relics, OSV Newsweekly , 6 Aug. 2014,
www.osv.com/OSVNewsweekly/Story/TabId/2672/ArtMID/13567/ArticleID/15859/
Authenticity-of-relics.aspx.

“Relics.” Catholic Online, www.catholic.org/encyclopedia/view.php?id=9934.

Richert, Scott P. “What Are Patron Saints and How Are They Chosen?” ThoughtCo. 3 Jan. 2018,
www.thoughtco.com/what-are-patron-saints-542859.

“Saint Gerard Maiella.” St. Lucy's Church, www.saintlucy.net.

“San Gennaro (Saint Januarius).” Italy Heritage. www.italyheritage.com/traditions/calendar/

september/19-san-gennaro.htm.

Saunders, William. “What Are Relics?” Catholic Straight Answers, 22 May 2013,
catholicstraightanswers.com/what-are-relics/.

Saunders, William. “Why Do We Venerate Relics?” Eternal Word Television Network, 13 July
1995, www.ewtn.com/library/ANSWERS/RELICS.HTM.

“St. Jerome on Relics and Vigils.” Classical Christianity, 23 June 2011,

classicalchristianity.com/2011/06/23/st-jerome-on-relics-and-vigils/.

“The Medieval Relic Trade.” The Museum of Hoaxes, hoaxes.org/archive/permalink/

the_medieval_relic_trade.
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“The Veneration of the Saints, Sacred Images, and Relics.” Code of Canon Law, Libreria
Editrice Vaticana, www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_P4D.HTM.

Thurston, Herbert. "St. Januarius." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert
Appleton Company, 1910. 7 Mar. 2018.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08295a.htm.