First recorded liquefaction of the blood of St Januarius

1389NotableContested

A Neapolitan chronicle records that in August 1389 a vial said to hold the blood of Januarius, a bishop martyred about 305, turned liquid. The public liquefaction in Naples still draws crowds.

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Contested history

Consensus: A dark substance in a sealed ampoule in Naples has been seen to turn from solid to liquid during public ceremonies since at least 1389.

The liquefaction is a miracleDebated

The Church allows the devotion but has never formally declared the liquefaction a miracle, and the ampoule has not been opened for chemical analysis.

The substance is a thixotropic gel that liquefies when movedMinority view

In 1991 Italian chemists made a gel from chalk, salt and iron chloride that liquefies when shaken (Nature, 1991), but this has not been tested on the relic.

The ampoule contains bloodDebated

A 1902 spectroscopic study reported lines consistent with hemoglobin, but it was done through the glass and has not been repeated with modern methods.

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