Committee for Skeptical Inquiry

[SkeptInq@aol.com]

 Don't miss "This Week in History" tonight at 9:00 pm (Eastern time US) on
the History Channel. CSICOP's Joe Nickell will appear in a segment on the
Shroud of Turin.

 The Miracle Blood of San Gennaro

 Amherst, NY (September 22, 2000)--On Tuesday, September 19, 2000, in Naples,
Italy, an expected "miracle" occurred: a congealed substance many believe is
the blood of a martyred saint liquefied in its vial. San Gennaro (in English
Saint Januarius) is Naples' patron saint, and the superstitious believe that
if the "blood" does not liquefy disaster may strike. In 1980 a massive
earthquake struck southern Italy after one failed liquefaction, yet in 1631,
after the "miracle" had taken place, Vesuvius erupted, killing 18,000.

 The glass vial containing the bloody substance is housed in a monstrance (a
shrine in the form of a stand) which is brought out of its vault twice
yearly: on the Saturday preceding the first Sunday in May, and on September
19, the saint's feast day. The latter is the anniversary of San Gennaro's
legendary death.

 The Catholic Church has never been able to document Gennaro's existence as
an actual historical personage, and in the 1960s his importance was greatly
diminished, along with the other folkloric figures like Saint George the
legendary dragon slayer. There is no historical record for the alleged
martyr's "blood" until the late fourteenth century, more than a millennium
after his reputed beheading.

 The congealed substance itself has never been reliably tested, despite the
local church's claims based on dubious spectral analyses. In fact, the
substance has qualities that differentiate it from genuine blood. Adding to
skeptic's suspicions, there are some twenty other saints' bloods that
liquefy, virtually every one of them from the Naples area--suggestive of some
local secret.

 Two skeptical hypotheses have been offered to explain the Januarian
phenomenon by natural means--both suggesting that it is a pious fraud. In
1991 a group of Italian scientists--Luigi Garlaschelli and two colleagues,
Franco Ramaccini and Sergio Della Sala--demonstrated that they could simulate
the effect with a thixotropic gel, a substance that liquefies when agitated
and resolidifies when allowed to stand.

 About the same time two American researchers--forensic analyst John F.
Fischer and paranormal investigator Joe Nickell--showed they could reproduce
a liquefying and recongealing miracle blood using a colored oil-and-wax
mixture. When slightly warmed by heat sources such as nearby candles and body
heat, the bogus blood can suddenly liquefy. Nickell and Fischer jokingly
attribute their phenomenon to "Saint Februarius."

 Although suitable tests of San Gennaro's alleged blood are still not
permitted, the Italian scientists were allowed to test one of the other
Naples-area vials without breaking it open or damaging its contents. It did
not respond to being shaken, but it did liquefy when warmed gently by a hair
dryer.

 For a discussion see Joe Nickell with John F. Fischer, "Mysterious Realms:
Probing Paranormal, Historical, and Forensic Enigmas", Amherst, NY:
Prometheus Books, 1992, pp. 145-164.

 -30-

 For the story, see Naples, Italy (Reuters), September 20, 2000, "Naples
Saint's Blood Liquefies, Citizens Relieved".
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/htx/nm/20000920 /od/blood_dc_1.html.

 Kevin Christopher
 Public Relations Director
 CSICOP/Skeptical Inquirer
 PO Box 703
 Amherst, NY 14226
 Tel: (716) 636-1425 ext. 224
 Fax: (716) 636-1733
 E-mail: SIKevinC@aol.com