The blood of Saint January, patron saint of Naples, had remained strong Thursday morning, but the miracle happened later in the day.

NAPLES, Italy – The blood of Saint January liquified on Thursday after a day of intense prayer in the Italian city of Naples.

The newspaper Il Messaggero reported that the miracle took place on the evening of December 16.

He quoted the Treasure Museum of San Gennaro in these terms: “After a whole day of prayers and the constant intonation of the ancient song of the” parents “of Saint Januarius, who since this morning invoked the dissolution of solid blood clot, the miracle of holy january took place at 5:59 pm today. ”

The museum confirmed the news in an article posted on its Facebook page.

The blood of Saint January, patron saint of Naples, had remained solid Thursday morning.

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

Liquefaction traditionally occurs at least three times a year: September 19, the saint’s feast day, the first Saturday in May, and December 16, the anniversary of the 1631 eruption of nearby Mount Vesuvius.

The 3rd-century bishop’s blood, contained in a sealed circular vial, liquefied in May and September of this year, but did not change state in December 2020.

Father Vincenzo de Gregorio, Abbot of the Royal Chapel of the Treasure of San Gennaro, opened a safe containing the reliquary at 9 a.m. local time on December 16, according to local media.

The reliquary was exhibited in the sanctuary of the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary during the morning mass.

At the end of Mass, the blood was checked for a second time but remained solid.

The bones and blood of Saint January – San Gennaro in Italian – are kept as relics in the Cathedral of Naples.

The bishop of the city in southern Italy was reportedly martyred during the persecution of Diocletian.

The famous miracle is known and accepted locally, although it has not yet received official recognition from the Church.

December 16 marks the anniversary of the preservation of Naples from the eruption of Vesuvius in 1631.

According to an Italian journalist, it is unusual for the miracle to occur on December 16. The blood most often liquefied on the feast of Saint-January of September 19 and the Saturday before the first Sunday in May.

Vatican journalist Francesco Antonio Grana told CNA last year that liquefaction “hardly ever happens” on December 16 and that in the past 34 years the number of times it has happened “can be counted on one hand”.