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What happens when the miracle of San Gennaro does not happen? This is the question that fills the minds of Neapolitans – believers and non-believers – in the last hours, after the miracle of blood liquefaction did not repeat itself as expected in the morning. It’s a popular belief, which still feels a lot today Naples, that the lack of dissolution of the blood of the patron saint is an ominous sign, a harbinger of impending disaster. And the historical precedents are far from encouraging: in 1939 and 1940, coinciding with the outbreak of the Second World War, the miracle did not happen. The blood did not melt even in September 1973, the period of the spread of anger in Naples, and in September 1980, shortly before Irpinia earthquake which had dramatic consequences also in the Neapolitan capital. Between the sacred and the profane, Neapolitans now await the celebrations at 4.30pm and 6.30pm, the last two “useful time slots” for San Gennaro. And make sure this 2020 isn’t even more sinister than it already has been.
“The lay miracle”
Of the three miracles, the date of December 16 is the least known, compared to that of the procession on the Saturday before the first Sunday in May and the canonical date of September 19. It is said that on that date, in 1631, a terrible eruption of Vesuvius seriously threatened to destroy Naples. The lava was now at the city gates and was about to demolish the first buildings, but the Neapolitans appealed to San Gennaro, who has always protected Naples from the destructive power of the volcano, carrying in procession the blood blisters with the bust of the Patron Saint on the Ponte dei Granili, the Maddalena bridge. The blood melted and the magma suddenly stopped saving the city.
Comes Also called the “secular miracle” because the ceremony takes place in the Chapel of San Gennaro, administered by the Diputación de San Gennaro, a secular institution founded in 1527 and presided over by the mayor of Naples. This year, the celebrations take place exceptionally at the main altar of the Duomo to guarantee the space provided by anti-Covid regulations. Meanwhile, the faithful of San Gennaro do not lose hope. “There is time until tonight,” they explain, although the announcement of the abbot of the Chapel Monsignor Vincenzo De Gregorio, at the end of the mass, surprised everyone a bit: “When we took the case out of the safe – he said. – the blood it was absolutely solid and remains absolutely solid. ‘
Last updated: 15:12 © REPRODUCTION RESERVED
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