Sept. 19: ST. JANUARIUS
Bishop and Martyr
Patron of Naples, Italy.

St. Januarius (Italian: Gennaro), also known as Januarius I of Benevento, was a Bishop of Benevento and is a martyr and saint of the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Churches. It is claimed that he died during the Great Persecution[2] which ended with Diocletian’s retirement in 305.

He is the patron saint of Naples, where the faithful gather three times a year in Naples Cathedral to witness the liquefaction of what is believed to be a sample of his blood kept in a sealed glass ampoule.

Lord God, as, by your grace, we keep the memory of Saint Januarius, grant that we may share with him the eternal joy you have promised us. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,  who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.