IS SAN GENNARO TELLING US SOMETHING?

Here’s an interesting moment of note which is near and dear to my heart, having lived in Italy decades ago while I was still in seminary.  

It’s a part of Catholicism some find humorous and others troublesome.  In any case, I thought I would share it with you.

St. Januarius is the Patron of Naples, its Bishop and Martyr.

Known in Italian as San Gennaro, his bones and a reliquary of his blood are preserved in Naples’ cathedral. He is believed to have been martyred during the infamous persecution of Christians during the rule of the Roman emperor Diocletian, who retired in 305.

A reputed miracle is known and accepted almost throughout the world, even though it has not been the subject of official Church recognition. The liquefaction of the Saint’s blood in the reliquary vial is believed to happen at least three times a year: the Saturday before the first Sunday of May, Sept. 19, which is the saint's feast day, and Dec. 16, the anniversary of the 1631 eruption of the Mount Vesuvius volcano.

During the miracle, the dried, red-colored mass confined to one side of the reliquary becomes blood that covers the entire glass. In local lore, the failure of the blood to liquefy signals war, famine, disease or other disaster.

The blood did indeed liquefy on Sept. 19, 2016.

Historically, the vial has sometimes changed upon the visit of a Pope.

On March 21, 2015, Pope Francis met with priests, religious and seminarians at the cathedral and gave a blessing with the relic.  Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe of Naples then received the vial back from the Pope and noted that the blood had partially liquified.  The Cardinal remarked: “It seems that St. Januarius loves the Pope, because the blood is already half liquefied.”

Pope Francis quipped in response: “you can see that the saint only loves us a little. We have to convert more.”

The last time blood liquefied in the presence of a Pope was in 1848 when Pius IX visited. The phenomenon didn’t happen when St. John Paul II visited the city in October 1979, or when Benedict XVI visited in October 2007.

Unfortunately, the Saint’s blood did not liquify this past December 16th, an event customarily interpreted to be a portent of trial and difficulty for the people of Naples.  Cardinal Sepe encouraged his people to take the opportunity of this moment to pray all the harder for the gift of conversion to the love and mercy of Jesus.  

It seems that superstition remains very much a part of Catholicism in certain parts of the world. 

But, it likewise appears that the Lord, in His Own, way can transform these odd observances into an opportunity for the encouragement of prayer and trust in His Providence.  

To that extent, I think we can wink at these moments and accept them as part of the diverse peoples and customs which make up the Body of Christ around the world.