St. Januarius

Biography

St. Januarius, known in Italian as San Gennaro, was bishop of Benevento, in southern Italy, at the beginning of the fourth century. Few historical details of his life survive. The accounts of his martyrdom, written later, relate that during the persecution of the Emperor Diocletian he went to visit imprisoned Christians, among them the deacon Sossius of Misenum, and was himself arrested. After his trial, he and several companions, including the deacon Festus and the lector Desiderius, were beheaded near Pozzuoli, around the year 305. His relics were eventually brought to Naples, where they rest in the cathedral. Januarius is honored as the principal patron of Naples, and the people of the city have long invoked him for protection, especially during eruptions of Mount Vesuvius, earthquakes, and epidemics. The cathedral also keeps a glass ampoule containing what is venerated as his blood. Since at least 1389, witnesses have recorded that the dried, dark substance in the vial becomes liquid at certain times, especially on his feast of September 19, on the Saturday before the first Sunday of May, and on December 16. The Church permits and encourages devotion to this phenomenon but has not issued a formal judgment on it. The feast is a great celebration in Naples and in Italian-American communities such as New York's Little Italy.

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Symbols