If you're in Naples on the Saturday before May 1st, September 19th, or December 16th, you can't miss the traditional ceremony where Saint Januarius's blood liquefies. The archbishop of Naples takes the casket with the patron saint's blood and lightly shakes the ampoules: if their contents become fluid, the crowd of faithful Catholics exults. One of the ampoules is three-quarters full, and the other, smaller one is half empty, because when Charles of Bourbon became the King of Spain, he took a little blood with him before he left! In 1991 an analysis confirmed that they actually contain hemoglobin, a substance present in blood.
Language: English