St. Januarius
Feast Day: September 19
Three times a year, crowds pack the cathedral of Naples, Italy.
They are waiting for a sign.
In a glass container sits a dark, dried substance believed to be the blood of a martyr who died 1,700 years ago.
And many times, as they pray, it turns to liquid.
The martyr’s name is Januarius.
In Italian, San Gennaro.
St. Januarius, pray for us.
Who Was St. Januarius?
Januarius was the bishop of Benevento, a city in southern Italy, in the late 200s and early 300s.
He lived during the persecution of the Emperor Diocletian, the worst persecution the early Church faced.
Few reliable details of his life survive.
What has been remembered most is the way he died.
His Martyrdom
According to ancient tradition, Januarius went to visit Christians who had been imprisoned for their faith.
He was arrested too.
Around A.D. 305, he and several companions were martyred near Pozzuoli, close to Naples.
Tradition says they were first thrown to wild beasts, which would not harm them, and then beheaded.
The Blood of Januarius
Christians in that era often collected the blood of martyrs as relics.
A vial said to contain the blood of Januarius has been kept in Naples for centuries.
The first recorded report of the blood liquefying comes from 1389.
Since then, it has often been seen to turn from solid to liquid on three days each year:
the Saturday before the first Sunday of May, September 19, and December 16.
Some years it does not liquefy, and the people of Naples take that as a call to pray harder.
What Does the Church Say?
The Catholic Church has never officially declared the liquefaction a miracle.
Scientists have studied it without reaching a firm explanation.
The Church allows the devotion and encourages people to see it as a sign pointing to what matters most: the faith Januarius died for.
The Seed of the Church
Tertullian, a Christian writer around A.D. 200, wrote:
“The blood of Christians is seed.”
— Tertullian
Januarius gave his life during a persecution meant to wipe out Christianity.
Less than ten years later, Christians were free to worship in the open.
The persecutors are long gone.
Januarius is still honored by millions.
Patron of Naples
St. Januarius is the patron saint of Naples.
The people there credit his prayers with protection from eruptions of Mount Vesuvius, plagues, and other disasters.
In the United States, Italian-American communities celebrate the Feast of San Gennaro with processions and festivals.
What St. Januarius Teaches Us
Januarius teaches us courage.
He went to help imprisoned Christians knowing it could cost him everything.
He also reminds us that the faith we have was handed down to us at great cost by people who loved Christ more than their own lives.
When Is the Feast of St. Januarius?
The Catholic Church celebrates the optional memorial of St. Januarius, Bishop and Martyr, on September 19.
Prayer Inspired by St. Januarius
Lord Jesus Christ,
St. Januarius gave his life rather than deny You.
Give us courage to stand by those who suffer for their faith,
and to stay faithful when it is hard.
May the witness of the martyrs bear fruit in our lives.
St. Januarius, pray for us. Amen.
