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 Pope St. Damasus I: 1600 Anniversary of Death Epigraph of St Januarius Scott 750 (1984) The Feast of Saint Januarius is celebrated on the Liturgical Calendar on September 19. Although there is no stamp specifically issued to honor Saint Januarius, the 500 lire stamp from the Pope Damasus issue of 1984 displays the epigraph placed by the pope on the tomb of the saint. Located in the catacomb of Praetestatus on the Via Appia Pignatelli, the epigraph reads:  "San Gennaro" by Louis Finson (circa 1610) Copy of lost work of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio From Wikimedia Commons, in the Public Domain The date of birth for Januarius is estimated to be around the year 232 AD. No contemporary sources on his life are preserved, thus little is known about him with certainty. He was reportedly born in Benevento to a rich patrician family and, at age 15, he became a priest for the small Christian community in the region. At age 20, he became the city's bishop. During the Diocletian persecutions, Januarius hid Christians to prevent their capture, and visited some Christians confined to prison. When jailers reported this, Januarius was arrested. The prisoners were placed in heavy chains and forced to walk in front of the governor’s chariot as a form of humiliation. Sources, and legends, indicate that he died by beheading at Pozzuoli in the Campagna region of Italy, with his date of death being listed as September 19, 305, but that date is also uncertain. The phenomenon associated with Saint Januarius is the annual liquefaction of his blood. The exact historical basis of the relic of his blood is not reliably established, and there is a lapse of time between his 4th century death and the identification of the relic of his blood in the late 14th century. According to legend, a woman saved a sample of his blood following his death. The first mention of this relic appears in 1389, indicating that the blood was found "melted". Since that time, reports surfaced that the solid blood sample liquified spontaneously, at first once a year, then twice, and finally three times a year. Three times each year, pilgrims visit the Cathedral of Naples to witness the phenomenon when the reliquary of the Saint's blood is presented to the public. The phenomenon takes place on September 19 (Feast of Saint Januarius), on December 16 (celebrating his patronage of Naples and its archdiocese), and on the Saturday before the first Sunday of May (commemorating the reunification of his relics). A drawing of the reliquary holding two hermetically sealed vials of his blood is shown here:  Reliquary containing two vials of the blood of Saint Januarius Image from "Die Gartenlaube" (1860) From Wikipedia Commons, in the Public Domain In addition to the dates shown above, the blood has been witnessed to have liquified in the presence of popes visiting the Cathedral of Naples. The phenomenon has been documented since 1639, with few exceptions. Saint Januarius is venerated as the patron of the city of Naples. In addition to his patronage in Naples, he is also the patron saint of volcanic eruptions and blood banks. He is remembered in the United States at the National Shrine Church of San Gennaro, located at the Church of the Most Precious Blood in the Little Italy neighborhood of New York City. REFERENCES: |
