Pope Francis is being credited with a miracle —
Pope Francis mobbed by overexcited nuns… ‘They are going to eat him!’
After St. Gennaro’s blood liquified in his presence in Naples on Saturday. The blood continued to liquefy until the entire contents of the ampoule had turned to liquid, causing some in the crowd to weep.The saint’s blood is usually dry inside of its sealed glass ampoule. However, after the pope kissed the relic, it began to turn to liquid. “It is the sign that St. Gennaro loves Pope Francis: half of the blood turned to liquid,” Cardinal Crescenzo Sepe, archbishop of Naples, told the cheering crowd, according to Vatican Insider. “If only half of it liquefied that means we still have work to do; we have to do better,” the pontiff replied. “We have only half of the saint’s love.”
Saturday marked the first time the blood has liquified in the papal presence since 1848, when it did so in front of Pope Pius IX, according to the
Pope Francis holds a relic believed to contain the blood of St. Gennaro. He’s credited with a ‘half-miracle’ after the blood ‘half-liquified’ in his presence. (Andrew Medichini/AP)
Pope Francis is being credited with a miracle — or at least a “half miracle” — after St. Gennaro’s blood liquified in his presence in Naples on Saturday.
Catholic Herald. The blood didn’t liquefy in front of Pope John Paul II when he visited in 1979, nor did it do so when Benedict XVI visited in 2007, according to the website.
The liquefaction of the blood has been documented for at least six centuries, AFP reported, happening up to 18 times a year in some cases.