St. Januarius

For many centuries, Naples has honored St. Januarius, or San Gennaro, as a martyr and bishop of Benevento, and as the city's principal patron. The traditional account places him in the persecution of Diocletian. Hearing that Christians had been imprisoned at Pozzuoli, the bishop went to encourage them and was arrested with his deacon Festus and lector Desiderius. The group was eventually condemned and beheaded near Pozzuoli.

The written acts that supply those details are late and cannot be treated as a secure account of the martyrdom. The reliable foundation is narrower but firm. A bishop named Januarius was truly martyred near Naples, was already venerated in the fifth century, appeared with a halo in an early catacomb image, and was named on September 19 in ancient calendars of both East and West.

It also examines the famous liquefaction associated with the relic believed to be the saint's blood. He accepts that the visible change has repeatedly been observed, while urging the prudent judgment required for miracles outside Holy Scripture. The devotion rests first on Januarius's witness to Christ. The unusual relic should lead the faithful toward humble worship, not distract them from the martyr himself.