The Life of St. Januarius 

St. Januarius was the Bishop of Benevetto in what is today Italy during the reign of Emperor Diocletian. While visiting with fellow Christians who had been imprisoned for their faith he was likewise imprisoned with a deacon and a lector. Januarius and his companions were thrown to the wild beasts (often depicted in artistic works as bears) in the amphitheater of Pozzouli around the year 305. The animals inexplicably refused to attack Januarius and his friends. They were ultimately put to death by beheading. His relics were eventually transferred to Naples where a church was constructed in his honor. 

The Miracle of the Relic 

Though St. Januarius is a saint due to his holy life and heroic death, he is actually best known for what happens to his relics several times a year. A vial of dried blood liquifies several days a year on dates that correspond to the life and death of this holy man. Attempts have been made throughout the centuries to provide a scientific explanation, but it is indeed a miraculous occurrence that has happened again and again and again on specific days, including on the saint's feast day of September 19th. Once in 2015 the relics liquified on a new date when Pope Francis made a visit to the church in Naples. The faithful have been attracted to venerate these miraculous relics for centuries and the phenomenon has gained widespread attention among Catholics and non-Catholics alike. 

The Role of Relics in the Church 

The consistent liquification of the relics of St. Januarius is a rather special case among the relics of saints, but other miracles have been known to happen with the relics of saints throughout the centuries. Going back to the time of the apostles, even relics from St. Paul were used to heal, 

God did extraordinary miracles through Paul,  so that when the handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, their diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them. Acts 19:11-12 

First class relics come from the body of a saint and second class relics would be things that belonged to them. The above is an example of a third class relic - something that has touched the body of a saint. Even these were used to facilitate healing and miracles! It isn’t that the body of a saint is miraculous in itself, but rather that God works through our physical nature to communicate something whether it be physical or spiritual healing or graces. 

Until rather recently in the Church’s history altar stones were required to have the relic of a martyr inside of them, this is in reference to the Book of Revelation,

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered for the word of God and for the testimony they had given; Revelation 6:9

Many churches still have relics of martyrs or other saints in their altar stones, or they may have a collection of relics that are brought out on special feast days. Some parishes even have an entire reliquary chapel which are magnificent to behold, filled with relics of the holy ones in heaven. 

The world today often scoffs at the idea of relics. When I studied abroad I had the chance to go to the Basilica di San Marco in Venice where the relics of St. Mark the Evangelist are located in the altar. I found it to be a great privilege to be able to pray in presence of the body of one of the evangelists! When talking to someone else on our water taxi on the way to the basilica, he laughed at the idea of me being interested in seeing the “magical bones.” We know, of course, that the relics of saints are not “magical.” They are also not even supernatural in the most literal sense. They are merely physical, but as God wills, they can become instruments of healing and grace, just as the saints were instruments of God’s healing and grace while on earth and are now in heaven. 

May the feast of St. Januarius be an opportunity for us to thank God for His great goodness in working in and through the material world. St. Januarius, pray for us!