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Martyrdom of Saint Januarius.
Date: Circa 1727 (19 September 2006 (original upload date)).
Source: Transferred from en.wikipedia; transferred to Commons by User:Darwinius using CommonsHelper.(Original text : Bishop's Library, Vác, Hungary).
Permission: PD-US; PD-ART.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Januarius is the Patron Saint of Naples, Italy, 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 blood kept in a sealed glass ampoule.
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 19 September (Saint Januarius Day, to commemorate his Martyrdom); on 16 December (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).
English: The miraculous liquefaction of the blood of Saint Januarius.
Italiano: Napoli. Il cardinale Crescenzio Sepe durante il rito
dello scioglimento del sangue di San Gennaro.
Photo: 22 September 2009.
Source: Flickr: Napoli. Il sangue è vivo.
Author: Paola Magni.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Little is known of the life of Januarius, 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.
Saint Januarius' Feast Day is celebrated on 19 September in the Calendar of the Catholic Church. In the Eastern Church, it is celebrated on 21 April. The city of Naples has more than fifty official Patron Saints, although its principal Patron Saint is Saint Januarius.
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.
The earliest extant mention of him is contained in a 432 A.D., Letter, by Uranius, Bishop of Nola, on the death of his mentor, Saint Paulinus of Nola, where it is stated that the ghosts of Januarius and Saint Martin appeared to Paulinus, three days before the latter's death in 431 A.D.
About Januarius, the account says only that he was "Bishop, as well as Martyr, an illustrious Member of the Neapolitan Church". The Acta Bononensia says that: "At Pozzuoli, in Campania, [is honoured 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".
English: The Chapel of Saint Januarius, Naples Cathedral, Italy.
Italiano: Parte dell'interno della Reale Cappella del Tesoro
di San Gennaro, Napoli. A destra la tela del Domenichino
del 1640 raffigurante la Decapitazione di San Gennaro.
Photo: 26 March 2008.
Source: Own work.
Author: Baku.
(Wikimedia Commons)
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.
United States, during the Feast of San Gennaro.
Featuring a Shrine to San Gennaro, on the left.
Photo: 19 September 2006.
Source: Own work.
Author: Nightscream.
Image: Wikipedia.
Date: 20 November 2006 (original upload date).
Source: Transferred from en.wikipedia;
transfer was stated to be made by User:מתניה.
Permission: CC-BY-SA-3.0-MIGRATED;
Released under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Author: Original uploader was Alextrevelian 006 at en.wikipedia.
