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Among the many miracles of the Church that still continue to this day, the liquefaction of St. Januarius’ blood ranks as one of the most popularly known.
A local legend explains, “After St. Januarius’ public execution, a faithful woman named Eusebia collected his blood in two flasks to keep as a relic. Extraordinarily, the dry blood regularly liquifies and then becomes solid again, a phenomenon first recorded in 1389. The ‘liquifaction’ typically occurs on his feast day and has occurred at other times in the presence of holy people, such as visiting popes.”
According to the Catholic News Agency, the liquefaction traditionally occurs at three times per year: September 19, St. Januarius’ feast day; the first Saturday of May; and December 16, the anniversary of the 1631 eruption of Mt. Vesuvius.
Who was St. Januarius?
The Roman Martyrology offers this short description of his life: “St. Januarius, bishop of Benevento and martyr, who in a time of persecution against the faith, suffered martyrdom for Christ at Pozzuoli near Naples.”
Another popular medieval legend gives a few more details surrounding his martyrdom:
He was cast into a burning furnace, but escaped unhurt, not even his garments or a hair of his head being injured by the flames. This enraged the president, who commanded the martyr’s body to be so stretched that all his joints and nerves were displaced.
St. Januarius survived even that torture and was turned over to the beasts the following day:
The following day they all exposed in the amphitheater, but the beasts, forgetting their natural ferocity, crouched at the feet of Januarius.
These events greatly humiliated the local Roman judge, who, “ordered the holy bishop and his companions to be beheaded.”
Besides these legendary accounts of his death, little is known about his life, or his practice of virtue during his life.
Only God knows the reason why St. Januarius’ blood liquefies each year, continuing to work miracles through this holy bishop.
