Naples, Italy, Dec 19, 2016 / 12:06 pm
Prayer was the response to a rare failure of a saint's blood to liquefy in Naples, an occurrence some believe to portend misfortune.
"We must not think of disasters and calamities. We are men of faith and we must pray," said Monsignor Vincenzo De Gregorio, the Abbot of the Chapel of the Treasure of San Gennaro, ANSA reports.
The blood belongs to St. Januarius, Patron of Naples and former bishop and martyr of the city.
Known in Italian as San Gennaro, his bones and a reliquary of his blood are preserved in Naples' cathedral. He is believed to have been martyred during the infamous persecution of Christians during the rule of the Roman emperor Diocletian, who retired in 305.