Page 4 - Italian-American Herald - September 2024

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The eruption of Vesuvius in 1631 by Domenico Gargiulo.| WIKIPEDIA
San Gennaro: Called upon by Neopolitans asking for help, healing
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During an eighteen-month lengthy period
of persecution of Christians by Emperor Diocletian, he hid his fellow Christians and prevented them from being caught. When Sossius, who was now a deacon, was arrested Janarius went to visit him and he too was arrested.
Sossius was condemned by the judge Dragontius, who ordered him to be killed by wild bears in a local amphitheater. Bishop Gennaro was sentenced to be thrown to the lions. The next day, Gennaro’s sentence was delayed, either because the governor of the region was absent or because he realized that the people showed sympathy for the convicted. However, the faithful believe
that he did not die, because miraculously, the lions knelt before the condemned after
a blessing made by Gennaro. Dragontius
then decreed that Gennaro, and his six companions were to be beheaded and this sentence was executed on Sept. 19, 305 A.D.
Immediately after his death, Gennaro’s childhood nurse Eusabia is believed to
have collected and placed his blood into
an ampoule. Eight years later, his body was moved to Naples and when the procession stopped in what is today Piazza Bernini in Naples, Eusebia put the vials containing his blood near his head and his blood liquified in the presence of the local bishop.
San Gennaro was named the patron and protector of Naples, and he is called on by Neapolitans to ask for help, healing, and special favors. Notably, he was called on to stop the lava flow which was about to destroy the towns around the volcano during the 1631 eruption of Mount Vesuvius. While many people were killed and towns on the slopes of the volcano were destroyed, the lava
did slow down, and Naples was not directly damaged.
The bones and blood of St. Januarius
– San Gennaro in Italian – are preserved as relics in Naples Cathedral. A vial containing the dried blood of the fourth-century martyr is put on public display three times a year in the city’s cathedral and the faithful pray for its liquefaction, known as the “Miracle of San Gennaro.” These events have been recorded since 1389. The faithful pray fervently for this miracle as they believe that the failure
of the blood to liquefy signals war, famine, disease, or other disaster. The blood may take several hours or several days to change form but does not always do so. The blood has liquefied most often on the feast day in May and the celebration on Sept. 19, and on the Saturday before the first Sunday of May.
The annual celebration and feast of faith is held over the course of three days in
A vial containing the dried blood of the fourth-century martyr is put on display three times a year while the faithful pray for it to return to a liquid state.