No Miracle of St. Januarius this time

Saw this on Facebook:

"URGENT: There was no Miracle of St. Januarius

"As we know every December 16th, the miracle of St. Januarius occurs where the blood stored in a shrine liquefies. However yesterday the miracle did not occur and Cardinal Sepe as well as the faithful became apprehensive. According to tradition when the miracle does not occur it is a sign of a near tragedy or urgent conversion request for the Church. It is very rare that the miracle does not occur; sometimes it goes on for centuries without interruption."

 

O boy......

 

Would be interesting to know the history of times the blood failed to liquefy and whether or not any tragic events followed in close proximity.

 

Looking for more information about this miracle I found this update on the miracle that occurred while Pope Francis was present last year:

http://www.lastampa.it/2015/03/21/v...s-presence-RwgmeN7TxifcMiKu4UcOUO/pagina.html

 

I remember that, but the OP asserts that this miracle has occured every December 16th and now it hasn't occured. Does anyone know if it indeed has liquefied every December 16th?

 

This article doesn't connect any particular date to when there has been a failure to liquefy but says that each of the times that it has failed to liquefy has coincided with the outbreak of disease, etc.

In more recent years the liquefacations and viewings have taken place three times a year: on September 19, the feastday of the Saint; on December 16, which is the anniversary of the eruption of Vesuvius in 1631; and on the first Sunday in May, which commemorates the translation of the relics to Naples. The blood has failed to liquefy several times, each time coinciding with the outbreak of disease, famine, war or political suppression. It is for this reason that Neapolitans rejoice at each liquefaction.

http://www.miraclesofthechurch.com/2010/10/blood-miracle-of-st-januarius-gennaro.html

....more....

***Update: On Saturday, March 21, 2015, during a visit of Pope Francis to the Cathederal of Naples, the blood of St Januarius liquefied after the Pope venerated and kissed the relic. The last time the blood of St Januarius liquefied in the presence of a Pope was back in 1848 with Pope Pius IX. The miraculous blood liquefacation occurred at the end of the meeting with priests, religious and seminarians in the cathedral of Naples. During this time, the Pope kissed and venerated the relic, and then the Pope gave a blessing with the relic to all those present . When Crescenzio Sepe, the Cardinal of the Diocese, initially gave the relic to the Pope, the blood was still solid on one side of the vial, however when Pope Francis returned the reliquary, the cardinal looked at the relic and then announced: “It seems that St. Januarius loves the Pope, because the blood is already half liquefied.”

To downplay the event, the Pope Francis quipped: "The bishop just announced that the blood half-liquefied. We can see the saint only half loves us. If only half of it liquefied that means we still have work to do; we have to do better. We must all spread the Word, so that he loves us more!"

Soon afterwards however it was noted that all of the blood had liquefied completely, as testified here by "Vatican Insider" news. The liquefacation occurred during Pope Francis' one day pilgrimage to Naples, during which time he visited the poor of the city and also a prison. He was met by tens of thousands in the city of Naples who came out in great numbers to see him. When the pontiff arrived in the poor, crime-ridden Scampia area of the city in the "pope-mobile", he immediately plunged into a crowd of young people, two of whom cheerfully managed to even pose for a "selfie" with the smiling pontiff.

To this writer this most recent event may very well be a sign of God's favor with this current Pope. May Jesus bless His holy Catholic Church and also our Holy Father, Pope Francis!

 

According to Catholic Culture, the date isn't December 16 but his feast day, September 19. It took place this year:

www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=29380

http://www.ansa.it/english/news/vat...s-2_eaf4c2ff-b7c2-4f4b-87d7-3bd61a1e699e.html

 

According to this link, https://cruxnow.com/global-church/2016/09/19/famed-blood-miracle-san-gennaro-unfolds-naples/, and others, the saint's blood can liquefy up to 3 times a year:

...According to the cult around San Gennaro, his blood was collected by a woman named Eusebia shortly after his death. Devotion to the annual liquefaction, however, isn’t documented until 1389, and over the next few centuries reports circulated about the blood melting up to three times every year: His feast on Sept. 19; Dec. 16, marking his patronage of Naples; and the day before the first Sunday in May, celebrating the reunification of his relics.

 

It does so three times a year. The last time it did not on one of those three dates an earthquake followed that killed over 3,000 people in Naples area. Every time it has not liquidfied a tragic event has followed. So the timeline would be between now and the first Sunday of May when the next occurrence is scheduled to happen

 

One thing I find slightly curious about this 'non event' is that apart from the Italian web page that Mac referenced, I have not been able to find any other reference to it on the internet (via Google).

 

It's a local church miracle not a big news item. Check crux tomorrow when reporters are back to work

 

There is a report in ChurchMilitant.com.

 

This one didn't get the "update" re: the Pope Francis experience (all, not half) but gives a bit more:

http://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/bad-omen-blood-of-st.-januarius-fails-to-liquefy

 

I hate to sound superstitious but if I lived in Naples or Italy my heart would be in mouth about this.

 

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08295a.htm

"Rarely has the liquefaction failed to take place in the expositions of May or September, but in that of 16 December the mass remains solid more frequently than not."

 

Oh dear, I pray nothing bad happens

 

Yes, this and what we have been reminded to pray for several times in the Luz de Maria messages about Italy!

 

Some of the occasions where the blood didn’t liquefy in the last few decades were: 1980, when a terrible earthquake hit South Italy; 1973, when Naples suffered an outbreak of cholera; 1939, when World War II broke out; 1940, when Italy joined the War; 1943, when Italy was occupied by the Nazis. And throughout the centuries the absence of the astonishing phenomenon has been precedent to religious persecutions, eruptions of the Mount Vesuvius, earthquakes, revolutions, wars and the deaths of kings, archbishops and Popes. Rarely the liquefaction happens outside of the three traditional dates.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/busines.../13/italian-banks-are-living-on-borrowed-time

Italy is going to be like Greece and Venezuela soon.

The only difference is that Italy is the worlds 8th largest economy.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-38360242

This is the last normal Christmas for us Europeans.

Enjoy it.