Blood of St. Januarius liquefies in Naples

The blood of St. Januarius, patron of the southern Italian city of Naples, liquefied on Sunday.

Naples archdiocese announced that the miraculous event took place at 5:18 p.m. local time on May 2.

A video posted to YouTube on May 3 showed a monsignor displaying the reliquary and turning it to demonstrate that the blood inside a spherical ampoule had turned from a solid to a liquid state.

During the miracle, the dried, red-coloured mass confined to one side of the reliquary becomes blood covering the entire glass.

In local lore, the failure of the blood to liquefy signals war, famine, disease, or another disaster.

The liquefaction usually occurs annually on the afternoon of the first Saturday in May. But this year, it happened on the second day of prayer in honour of the third-century bishop of Naples.

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