Among the saints of antiquity, Gennaro is certainly one of the most venerated by the faithful thanks also to the cult that the Neapolitans pay to him, periodically accompanied by the mysterious miracle of the liquefaction of his blood. Much-loved patron saint of Naples, his iconographic attributes are the pastoral staff and the palm, symbol of martyrdom.
San Gennaro in the Amphitheatre of Pozzuoli, Artemisia Gentileschi, 1636 (Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
Who was San Gennaro?
Gennaro was born in Naples, in the second half of the third century, and was elected bishop of Benevento, where he carried out his apostolate, loved by the Christian community and respected even by the pagans. The story of his martyrdom fits into the context of Diocletian’s anti-Christian persecutions.
He knew the deacon Sosso (or Sossio) who led the Christian community of Miseno and who was imprisoned by the judge Dragonio, proconsul of Campania.
Gennaro, having learned of Sosso’s arrest, wanted to go with two companions, Festo and Desiderio to bring him his comfort in prison. Dragonio, informed of his presence and interference, had the three of them arrested as well, provoking the protests of Procolo, deacon of Pozzuoli and two Christian faithful of the same city, Eutiche and Acuzio. These three were also arrested and condemned along with the others to die in the amphitheater, which still exists today, to be torn to pieces by bears. But during the preparations, the proconsul Dragonio, realized that the people showed sympathy towards the prisoners and therefore, foreseeing disorders during the so-called games, changed his mind and on September 19, 305 he had the prisoners beheaded.
What does the name Gennaro mean?
Very widespread in Campania and also in Southern Italy, it dates back to the Latin “Ianuarius” derived from “Ianus” (Janus) the two-faced god of the keys to heaven, of the beginning of the year and of the passage of doors and houses. The name was generally given to children born in the month of January “Ianuarius”, the eleventh month of the year according to the Roman calendar, but the first after the reform of the 2nd century AD
Gennaro belonged to the gens Ianuaria, because Ianuarius, which means “consecrated to the god Ianus”, was not his name, which has not reached us, but the gentilic corresponding to our surname.
What are the sources of your biography?
There are seven ancient ‘Acts’, ‘Passio’, ‘Vitae’, which speak of Januarius, among the most famous being the “Atti Bolognesi” and the “Atti Vaticani”.
From these documents we learn that Gennaro, born in Naples in the second half of the third century, was elected bishop of Benevento, where he carried out his apostolate, loved by the Christian community and respected even by the pagans for the care he employed in charitable works for all without distinction; it was in the first period of the empire of Diocletian (243-313), who allowed Christians to occupy prestigious positions and a certain freedom of worship.
How did the tradition of the Blood of San Gennaro originate?
During the transport of the relics of San Gennaro to Naples, a certain Eusebia or another woman, to whom he had entrusted them before dying, delivered to the bishop the two ampoules containing the blood of the martyr; in memory of the stages of the solemn translation, two chapels were erected: S. Gennariello in Vomero and San Gennaro in Antignano. The cult of the holy bishop spread strongly over time, making it necessary to expand the catacomb.
Frescoes, inscriptions, mosaics and paintings found in the underground cemetery demonstrate that the cult of the martyr was alive since the 5th century, so much so that many Christians wanted to be buried next to him and their tombs were decorated with his images.
It should be noted that already in the 5th century the martyr Gennaro was considered a ‘saint’ according to ancient ecclesiastical custom, a canonization later confirmed by Pope Sixtus V in 1586.
The tomb became, as already mentioned, the destination of continuous pilgrimages due to the great miracles attributed to it; in 472 for example, on the occasion of a violent eruption of Vesuvius, the Neapolitans flocked en masse to the catacomb to ask for his intercession, thus starting the habit of invoking him during earthquakes and eruptions, and while the cult of St. Gennaro increased, that of St. Agrippino bishop, until then patron saint of the city of Naples, gradually decreased; from 472 St. Gennaro began to assume the rank of principal patron saint of the city.
What are the main events in the history of the relics?
During another eruption in 512, it was the bishop of Naples himself, Stephen I, who began the propitiatory prayers; later he had a church called Stefania built in his honor, next to the Constantinian basilica of S. Restituta (the first cathedral of Naples), on which towards the end of the 13th century, the Cathedral was erected; placing the skull and the case with the vials of blood in the crypt. This providential decision preserved the aforementioned relics from the theft carried out by the Lombard Sicone, who during the siege of Naples in 831, penetrated the catacombs, then outside the city walls, taking away the other bones of the saint which were taken to Benevento, seat of the Lombard duchy. The bones remained in this city until 1156, when they were transferred to the sanctuary of Montevergine (AV), where they remained for three centuries, even losing track of them, until during some excavations carried out in 1480, they were accidentally found under the high altar, together with those of other saints, but clearly identified by a lead plate with the name. On January 13, 1492, after endless discussions and negotiations with the monks of the Verginiana Abbey, the bones were brought back to Naples in the succorpo of the Cathedral and joined to the head and the ampoules. In the meantime, the skull bones had been placed in a very precious silver bust, the work of three Provençal goldsmiths, a gift from Charles II of Anjou in 1305, to the Cathedral of Naples. Later in 1646, the silver bust with the skull and the now famous ampoules with blood, were placed in the new artistic Chapel of the Treasury, rich in masterpieces of art of every kind. The ampoules were set in a precious case made by Robert of Anjou, in an unspecified period of his long reign (1309-1343). The case took on its current appearance in the 17th century, enclosed between two circular glasses of about twelve centimeters in diameter, there are the two ampoules, a larger one of flattened elliptical shape, filled for about 60% of blood and the smaller one cylindrical with only a few red-brownish stains on the walls; the liquefaction of the blood occurs only in the larger one. The other relics placed in an ancient amphora, remained in the crypt of the Cathedral, on which rises the apse and the main altar of the great Cathedral.
When did the blood first thaw?
According to an ancient document, it happened for the first time on August 17, 1389; it is not excluded, because it is not documented, that it happened earlier.
March 21, 2015, the melting of the Blood of San Gennaro during the visit of Pope Francis to Naples
How many times does the miracle of San Gennaro occur?
Three times a year. The first Saturday of May, in which the bust adorned with precious episcopal vestments and the reliquary with the case and the ampoules, are carried in procession, together with the silver busts of the numerous patron saints of Naples, also displayed in the aforementioned Treasury Chapel, from the Cathedral to the Basilica of S. Chiara, in memory of the first translation from Pozzuoli to Naples, and here after the ritual prayers, the liquefaction of the clotted blood takes place.
The second one happens on September 19, anniversary of the beheading, once took place in the Treasury Chapel, but due to the large number of faithful, the bust and relics are now displayed on the main altar of the Cathedral, where here too after repeated prayers, with the presence of the cardinal archbishop, civil authorities and faithful, the miracle occurs amid general jubilation. Once the liquefaction has taken place, the case held by the archbishop is shown almost upside down to the faithful and to the kiss of those closest to them; the blood remains liquefied for the entire subsequent octave and the faithful are allowed to see the case from up close and kiss it with a prelate who moves it to verify the liquidity, after eight days it is placed back in the niche and locked.
The third liquefaction occurs on December 16th “feast of the patronage of St. Gennaro”, in memory of the disastrous eruption of Vesuvius in 1631, blocked after the invocations to the saint. The miracle so punctual, has not always occurred, There is a diary of the Canons of the Cathedral which reports over the centuries, even the times when the blood did not liquefy, or with hours and days of delay, or sometimes it was found already liquefied when they were opened
What is the religious significance of the miracle?
“Miracles,” he said Don Nicola Buxtheologian of the Diocese of Bari and consultant to the Congregations for the Causes of Saints, «are an instrument to call man back to higher principles. The liquefaction of the blood of Gennaro is not the only one among the saints. Two cases must be mentioned, both near Naples. These are San Pantaleone in Ravello and San Lorenzo in Amaseno, in the province of Frosinone.
In ancient times, Christians recovered the blood of those who had been killed in the name of Christ, preserving it in vials. It is a custom that is reported in the “Acts of the Martyrs”. And here we come to the meaning of the word “martyr”, from the Greek “witness”. In this case “witness of Christ”. He who let them kill him rather than deny God is a martyr. A witness.
Tertullian in the third century AD wrote that “The blood of martyrs has a particular virtue: it is the seed of new Christians”. Therefore, the renewal of the miracle of San Gennaro makes Faith sprout. The reversibility, from solid to liquid, of the blood of Gennaro is something vivifying».
What is the Treasure of San Gennaro?
Today kept in a bank vault, being huge and extremely precious, it is the collection of gifts made to the patron saint by sovereigns, nobles and all those others who have received graces through his intercession, either to themselves and their family or to the city itself.
The keys to the niche are kept by the Deputation of the Treasury of San Gennaro, for centuries composed of nobles and illustrious Neapolitan figures headed by the mayor of the city.