Januarius - Hymns and Chants

Januarius
“San Gennaro” redirects here. For the Italian wine grape
also known as San Gennaro, see San Gennaro (grape).
For the first month of the ancient Roman calendar, see
Ianuarius.
friended Juliana of Nicomedia and Saint Sossius whom
he met during his priestly studies. During the 1 1 ⁄2 -yearlong persecution of Christians by Emperor Diocletian, he
hid his fellow Christians and prevented them from being
caught. Unfortunately, while visiting Sossius in jail, he
Januarius (Italian: San Gennaro), Bishop of Naples, is a too was arrested. He and his colleagues were condemned
to be thrown to wild bears in the Flavian Amphitheater
martyr saint of the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orat
Pozzuoli, but the sentence was changed due to fear of
thodox Churches. While no contemporary sources on his
public
disturbances, and they were instead beheaded at
life are preserved, later sources and legends claim that he
the
Solfatara
crater near Pozzuoli.[5] Other legends state
[2]
died during the Diocletianic Persecution, which ended
either that the wild beasts refused to eat them, or that he
with Diocletian’s retirement in 305.
was thrown into a furnace but came out unscathed.
Januarius is the patron saint of Naples, where the faithful
gather three times a year in Naples Cathedral to witness
the liquefaction of what is claimed to be a sample of his
2 Relics
blood kept in a sealed glass ampoule.
1
Biography
Little is known of the life of Januarius,[2] and what follows is mostly derived from later Christian sources, such
as the Acta Bononensia (BHL 4132, not earlier than 6th
century) and the Acta Vaticana (BHL 4115, 9th century),
and from later-developing folk tradition. Now we know
that he was born in Benevento. The earliest extant mention of him is contained in a 432 letter by Uranius, bishop
of Nola, on the death of his mentor Saint Paulinus of
Nola,[3] where it is stated that the ghosts of Januarius
and Saint Martin appeared to Paulinus three days before
the latter’s death in 431. About Januarius, the account
says only that he was “bishop as well as martyr, an illustrious member of the Neapolitan church” [4] The Acta
Bononensia says that “At Pozzuoli in Campania [is honored the memory] of the holy martyrs Januarius, Bishop
of Beneventum, Festus his deacon, and Desiderius lector,
together with Sossius deacon of the church of Misenum,
Proculus, deacon of Pozzuoli, Eutyches and Acutius, who
after chains and imprisonment were beheaded under the
Emperor Diocletian extquotedbl.
1.1
Legends about his life and death
Bust of Saint Januarius
According to various Christian legends, Januarius was allegedly born in Benevento to a rich patrician family that
traced its descent to the Caudini tribe of the Samnites. At
a young age of 15, he became local priest of his parish in
Benevento, which at the time was relatively pagan. When
Januarius was 20, he became Bishop of Naples and be-
According to an early hagiography,[6] his relics were
transferred by order of Saint Severus, Bishop of Naples,
to the Neapolitan catacombs extquotedblextra moenia,”
“outside the walls”.[7] In the early ninth century the body
was moved to Beneventum by Sico, prince of Benevento,
1
2
4
THE BLOOD MIRACLE
Martyrdom of Saint Januarius by Girolamo Pesce
The Martyrdom of St Januarius, by Artemisia Gentileschi (1636)
with the head remaining in Naples. Subsequently, during
the turmoil at the time of Frederick Barbarossa, his body
was moved again, this time to the Territorial Abbey of
Montevergine where it was rediscovered in 1480.
At the instigation of Cardinal Oliviero Carafa, his body
was finally transferred in 1497 to Naples, where he is the
city’s patron saint. Carafa commissioned a richly decorated crypt, the Succorpo, beneath the cathedral to house
the reunited body and head properly. The “Succorpo” was
finished in 1506 and is considered one of the prominent
monuments of the High Renaissance in the city.[8]
3
Celebrations
Saint Januarius’ feast day is celebrated on September
19,[9] in the calendar of the Catholic Church. In the Eastern Church it is celebrated on April 21.[10] The city of
Naples has more than fifty official patron saints, although
its principal patron is Saint Januarius.[11]
For the Italian population of Little Italy, Manhattan, and
other New Yorkers, the Feast of San Gennaro is a highlight of the year, when the saint’s polychrome statue is
carried through the streets and a blocks-long street fair
ensues.
4 The Blood Miracle
Saint Januarius is famous for the miracle of the annual liquefaction of his blood, which, according to legend, was
saved by a woman called Eusebia just after the saint’s
death. Thousands of people assemble to witness this
event in Naples Cathedral three times a year: on September 19 (Saint Januarius day, to commemorate his martyrdom), on December 16 (to celebrate his patronage of
both Naples and of the archdiocese), and on the Saturday before the first Sunday of May (to commemorate the
reunification of his relics).[12]
Although the city of Naples became known as urbs sanguinum, the miracle is not a unique phenomenon. Other
examples include Saint Patricia, blood said to belong to
Saint John the Baptist in the monastery of San Gregorio
Armeno, and that of Saint Pantaleon which liquifies in
nearby Ravello. The liquefication of coagulated blood is
therefore peculiar to the region of Campania and virtually unheard of elsewhere. The veneration of many of
the blood cults have died out since the sixteenth century, but it may have been the Christian development
of an earlier, local pagan ritual to protect the population from unexpected lava bursts flowing from Vesuvius.
Disbelievers credit its invention to a medieval Neapolitan
alchemist.[13]
4.2
Catholic Church’s position
3
For most of the time, the ampoules are kept in a bank
vault, whose keys are held by a commission of local notables, including the Mayor of Naples; while the bones
are kept in a crypt under the main altar of Naples Cathedral. On feast days, all these relics are taken in procession from the cathedral to the Monastery of Santa Chiara,
where the archbishop holds the reliquary up and tilts it to
show that the contents are solid, and places it on the high
altar next to the saint’s other relics. After intense prayers
by the faithful, including the so-called “relatives of Saint
Januarius” (parenti di San Gennaro), the content of the
larger vial typically liquefies. The archbishop then holds
up the vial and tilts it again to demonstrate that liquefaction has taken place. The announcement of the liquefaction is greeted with a 21-gun salute at the 13th-century
Castel Nuovo. The ampoules remain exposed on the altar for eight days, while the priests move or turn them
periodically to show that the contents remain liquid.[11]
The liquefaction sometimes takes place almost immediately, but can take hours or even days. Records kept at
the Duomo tell that on rare occasions the blood fails to
liquefy, or is found already liquefied when the ampoules
are taken from the safe,[15] or that the miracle occurred
outside the usual dates.[11]
The spire of the Cattedrale di San Gennaro (Naples Cathedral)
4.1
Description of the ritual
A chronicle of Naples written in 1382 describes the cult
of Saint Januarius in detail, but mentions neither the relic
nor the miracle.[14][16] The first recorded reference to the
'miracle of the blood' was in 1389.[17][18]
4.2 Catholic Church’s position
While the Catholic Church has always supported the celebrations, it has never formulated an official statement
on the phenomenon, and maintains a neutral stance about
scientific investigations.[11]
Saint Alphonsus Liguori wrote regarding Saint Januarius:
The miraculous liquefaction of the blood of Saint Januarius.
The dried blood is stored in two hermetically sealed
small ampoules, held since the 17th century in a silver
reliquary between two round glass plates about 12 cm
wide. The smaller ampoule, of cylindrical shape, contains only a few reddish spots on its walls (the bulk having allegedly been removed and taken to Spain by Charles
III). The larger ampoule, with capacity of about 60 ml
and almond-shaped, is about 60% filled with a dark reddish substance.[11][14] Separate reliquaries hold bone fragments believed to be of Saint Januarius.
“The Neapolitans honor this saint as the
principal patron of their city and nation, and
the Lord himself has continued to honor him, by
allowing many miracles to be wrought through
his intercession, particularly when the frightful
eruptions of Mount Vesuvius have threatened
the city of Naples with utter destruction. While
the relics of St. Januarius were being brought
in procession towards this terrific volcano, the
torrents of lava and liquid fire which it emitted have ceased, or turned their course from
the city. But the most stupendous miracle, and
that which is greatly celebrated in the church,
is the liquefying and boiling up of this blessed
martyr’s blood whenever the vials are brought
in sight of his head. This miracle is renewed
many times in the year, in presence of all who
desire to witness it; yet some heretics have endeavored to throw a doubt upon its genuineness,
4
6
FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE
by frivolous and incoherent explanations; but no
one can deny the effect to be miraculous, unless
he be prepared to question the evidence of his
senses.” [19]
Geraci (Professor of the Department of Molecular Biology of the Università Federico II di Napoli) on a phial
containing old blood (a relic dating back to the 18th
century from the Eremo di Camaldoli, near Arezzo, in
Tuscany) having the same characteristics of the blood of
[29]
Geraci has shown that the Camaldoli’s
John Henry Cardinal Newman also attested to the verac- St. Januarius.
relic
actually
contains
blood that can change its solidity of the miracle of liquefaction:
liquid phase by shaking.[30] He has also reproduced the
phenomenon with his own blood stored in the same con“I think it impossible to withstand the eviditions of the Camaldoli’s relic.[31] Geraci finally argues
dence which is brought for the liquefaction of
that extquotedblthere’s blood, no miracle”.[30]
the blood of St. Januarius at Naples and for
Another possibility is that the liquid was manufactured
the motion of the eyes in the pictures of the
[20]
by a medieval artisan. A team of three Italian chemists
Madonna in the Papal States.”
managed to create a liquid that reproduces all the characteristics and behaviour of the liquid in the vial, and they
used only local materials and techniques that were known
4.3 Scientific studies and other theories
to medieval workers.[32][33] In the past, in the Naples area,
Believers continue to insist on the reality of the phe- the Church recognized claims of miraculous liquefying
nomenon based on their faith, insisting that the annual blood for other seven saints, but the Church since dropped
event is a miraculous one. Scientists however have pro- those claims except the one for Saint Januarius; this sugposed hypotheses to explain the liquification using con- gests that there was a local secret recipe for manufacturing this type of relic.[32][33] In total, about 20 saints had
temporary scientific knowledge.
relics of liquefying blood, and they were almost all in the
The Catholic Church does not permit the vials to be
Naples area.[34]
opened, for fear that doing so may cause irreparable damage. This makes close analysis impossible, obviously.
Nevertheless, a spectroscopic analysis performed in 1902
by Gennaro Sperindeo and Raffaele Januario[21] claimed 5 Museum of the Treasure of St.
that the spectrum was consistent with hemoglobin. A
Januarius
later analysis, with similar conclusions, was carried out
[22]
in 1989. However, the reliability of these observations
has been questioned.[14] While clotted blood can be lique- The Treasure of San Gennaro is composed of magniffied by mechanical stirring, the resulting suspension can- icent works and donations collected in seven centuries
of Popes, Kings, Emperors, famous and ordinary people.
not solidify again.[14]
According to studies done by a pool of experts who have
Measurements made in 1900 and 1904 claimed that the
analyzed all the pieces of the collection, the Treasure of
ampoules’ weight increased by up to 28 grams during liqSt. Gennaro would be even richer than the crown of Enguefaction. However, later measurements with a precision
land’s Queen Elizabeth II and the Czars of Russia. The
balance, performed over five years, failed to detect any
Treasure is a unique collection of art masterpieces, kept
variation.[14]
untouched thanks to the Deputation of the Chapel of San
Various suggestions for the content’s composition have Gennaro, an ancient secular institution founded in 1527
been advanced, such as a material that is photosensitive, by a vote of the city of Naples, still existing. Today, the
hygroscopic, or has a low melting point.[23] However, Treasure is exhibited in the Museum of the Treasure of
these explanations run into technical difficulties, such as San Gennaro, whose entrance is located on the right side
the variability of the phenomenon and its being unrelated of the Dome of Naples, under the arcades. By visiting
to ambient temperature.[14]
the Museum, you can access the Chapel of St. Gennaro
A recent hypothesis by Garlaschelli, Ramaccini, and even during the closing hours of the Cathedral. Official
Della Sala is that the vial contains a thixotropic gel,[14][24] Website of the Museum.
he also explained on the Blood Miracle of Riddles of
the Dead series on National Geographic Channel.[25] In
such a substance viscosity increases if left unstirred and
decreases if stirred or moved. Researchers have proposed specifically a suspension of hydrated iron oxide,
FeO(OH), which reproduces the color and behavior of
the 'blood' in the ampoule.[26] The suspension can be prepared from simple chemicals that would have been easily
available locally since antiquity.[27][28]
6 Friedrich Nietzsche
Written in Genoa in the month of January 1882, Book
Four of The Gay Science by Friedrich Nietzsche opens
with a poem entitled 'Sanctus Januarius’, meaning both
Holy January and Saint Januarius. The dedication can be
read in various ways, both as a reference to the symbolic
In 2010, an experiment was conducted by Giuseppe importance of the saint as well as the particular month
5
of January in Nietzsche’s biography. Walter Kaufmann's
footnote to the English translation of the passage underscores that the use of Sanctus Januarius is as a symbol for
Nietzsche’s restored intellectual and literary output after
years of wandering across Europe. Thus, 'Sanctus Januarius’ honors the miracular transformation of deadened
life into liquid blood again, which is the leitmotif of the
contents of the fourth book of the Gay Science that values
becoming a 'Yes-sayer' to everything one is fated to.
[11] “Sant' Aspreno di Napoli”. Santi e Beati. April 19, 2002.
Retrieved August 29, 2008.
[12] Chiesa di San Gennaro - Duomo (Napoli)
[13] Jordan Lancaster, In the shadow of Vesuvius, Tauris, 2005
[14] Garlaschelli, L.; Ramaccini, F.; Della Sala, S. (1994).
“The Blood of St. Januarius”. Chemistry in Britain 30
(2): 123. Retrieved July 28, 2009.
[15] “Sangue di San Gennaro liquefatto prima della processione” Corriere dell Sera, 4 May 1997, p.15
7
See also
[16] (1382) Croniche de Inclyta Cità de Napole In Altamura,
Antonio (ed.), Cronaca di Partenope, Napoli, 1974
• Feast of San Gennaro, as held annually in New York, [17] Chronicon Siculum
Los Angeles, and Las Vegas
• Order of St. Januarius
Museum of the Treasure of San Gennaro
8
Notes
[1] Star Quest Production Network: Saint Januarius
[2] Thurston, Herbert (1910) “Saint Januarius” entry in The
Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. Online version accessed on 200906-20.
[3] Uranius Nolanius (432), De Vita et Obitu Paulini Nolani.
Published by Surius as Epistola “De Obitu Sancti Paulini”
Online version accessed on 2009-06-20. See also
“Uranius” entry in Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities edited William Smith (1870)
[4] Ianuarius, episcopus simul et martyr, Neapolitanae urbis
illustrat ecclesiam.
[5] For details of locations, see Catholic Encyclopedia, s.v.
“Saint Januarius”.
[6] Hagiographic sources are compiled in “Acta Sanctorum
Septembris, Tomus Sextis,” new ed. J. Carnandet, ed.
(Paris 1867:761-892); a condensed account of the removals of the relics is given by Diana Norman, “The
Succorpo in the Cathedral of Naples: 'Empress of All
Chapels’ extquotedbl, Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 49.3
(1986:323-355).
[7] Norman (1986), p. 331
[8] Norman 1986:323-355.
[9] “Martyrologium Romanum” (Libreria Editrice Vaticana,
2001 ISBN 88-209-7210-7); in the 1498 Roman martyrology, his martyrdom took place on the thirteenth
kalend of October or September 19th. (J. O'Connell,
“The Roman Martyrology extquotedbl [London 1962] s.v.
September 19).
[10] Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford University Press, 2005 ISBN 978-0-19-280290-3)
[18] Norman 1993:332 and note.
[19] St. Alphonsus Liguori, Victories of the Martyrs, pg. 284
[20] John Henry Newman, “Lectures on the Present Position
of Catholics in England,” London, 1851, p. 410
[21] Gennaro, Sperindeo (1901), Il Miracolo di S. Gennaro,
3rd ed., Naples, D'Auria, p. 67-72.
[22] F. D'Onofrio; P. L. Baima Bollone;M. Cannas; quoted by
Cardinal Michele Giordano (1990), Prolusione, in Proceedings of the Symposium on the VI centenary of the first
liquefaction of the blood (1389–1989), December 1989,
Napoli, Torre del Greco (Napoli), p. 10.
[23] Eusèbe Salverte, Des sciences occultes ou essai sur la
magie, les prodiges et les miracles, Paris, Baillière, 1826.;
Henri Broch. Le Paranormal (1985); ed. ext., Paris,
Seuil, 1989, p. 109; Joe Nickell, John F. Fischer, Mysterious Realms, Buffalo, Prometheus Books, 1993, p 159.
[24] Christopher, Kevin (2000-09-22). “The Miracle Blood
of Saint Januarius”. Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.
Archived from the original on 2007-02-06. Retrieved
2007-03-02.;
[25] National Geographic Channel - Riddles of the Dead Blood Miracle
[26] Luigi Garlaschelli (2002), Sangue Prodigioso. La Chimica
e l'Industria., 84 (6), p.67-70 Online version accessed on
2009-06-20. (In Italian).
[27] Epstein, Michael; Garlaschelli, Luigi (1992). “Better
Blood Through Chemistry: A Laboratory Replication of
a Miracle”. Journal of Scientific Exploration 6: 233–246.
Retrieved 2007-03-02.
[28] Owen, Richard (2005-09-20). “Naples blood boils at
miracle’s 'debunking' extquotedbl. The Times (London:
Times Newspapers Ltd). Retrieved 2007-03-02.
[29] “San Gennaro, spunta una seconda ampolla con dentro
il sangue”. Naples: Metropolis Web. 2010-02-05. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
[30] Piedimonte, Antonio Emanuele (2010-02-05). “Geraci,
la rivelazione 11 anni fa al Corriere “Il sangue c'è e l'ho
visto, il miracolo no extquotedbl extquotedbl. Naples:
RCS Corriere del Mezzogiorno. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
6
9
[31] De Lucia, Michele (2010-02-05). “Miracolo di San
Gennaro, un test dimostra che nell´ampolla c'è sangue
umano”. Naples: Positano News. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
[32] James, Randi. “The Liquefying 'Blood' of St. Januarius”. In Shermer, Michael. Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience. pp. 371–372. ISBN 9781576076538.
[33] Nickell, Joe. “Examining Miracle Claims” (Excerpt from
an article that appeared in March 1996 issue of Deolog).
Hidden Mysteries: Religion’s Frauds, Lies, Control. Retrieved 2007-03-02. “Since the fourteenth century there
have been several additional saints’ bloods that liquefy all
in the Naples area and thus suggestive [sic] of some regional secret.” Also published in Joe Nickell (2007), Tom
Flynn, ed., The new encyclopedia of unbelief, Prometheus
Books, p. 541, ISBN 9781591023913
[34] Joe Nickell (2007), Relics of the Christ, University Press
of Kentucky, p. 46, ISBN 9780813172125
9
External links
• CICAP: “The Blood of St. Januarius”
• San Gennaro
• New York’s Feast of San Gennaro
• The Blood Still Boils by Doug Skinner, Fate, July
2006
• The Skeptic’s Dictionary entry on Januarius
EXTERNAL LINKS
7
10
10.1
Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses
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Should Not Be, Arusso23, Jumbolino, The Polar Man, Riccardo Riccioni, Gennarous, BOTarate, AMC0712, EstherLois, Addbot, DOI
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