St. Januarius and His Companions

St. Januarius and His Companions – September 19

St. Januarius, bishop of Benevento, was beheaded at Pozzuoli near Naples at the beginning of the 4th century. Among his companions in martyrdom the Roman martyrology names Socius, Proculus, Eutychius and Acutius. The fame of St. Januarius rests chiefly on the miracle of the liquefaction of his blood, which still occurs in the cathedral of Naples. The dry blood, coagulated in a dark lump, is kept in a glass phial; when this is placed near the martyr’s head, the blood becomes liquid, increasing in weight and volume, and takes on the bright red colour of fresh blood, while its surface bubbles so that it is said to boil. This phenomenon takes place three times a year: during nine days festival beginning on the first Sunday of May; during the octave of his feast from September 19 to 26; and on December 16.