Traditional portrait of Saint Januarius
Little is known about the life of Saint Januarius or San Gennaro as the Italians call him. Â However, events following his death have left him a celebrated figure among the people of Naples, Italy.
Records indicate that Saint Januarius became a priest at the age of fifteen and eventually the bishop of Naples by the age of twenty. Â During his tenure, he was known to hide Christians who were persecuted by the pagan Emperor Diocletian of Rome.
Various legends exist surrounding the bishop and his apparent imperviousness to death.  One such tale is that when Diocletian soldiers eventually arrested Bishop Januarius and threw him to the wild bears in the Flavian Amphitheatre in Pozzuoli, the bears laid down and refused to attack the bishop.  Another says that attempts were made to execute the bishop by placing him in a furnace, but he would not burn. Bishop Januarius, however, was beheaded finally in 305 AD in Pozzuoli and later achieved sainthood.
Immediately following his death, it is said that a woman named Eusebia collected some of the bishop’s blood in vials. These blood-filled vials still exist today. Â They have proved to be much more than
just a holy relic. Â Beginning in at least 1389 when the vials were first referenced, Saint Januarius’ dried blood miraculously liquefies during the annual celebration of San Gennaro on September
19th and on the Saturday before the first Sunday in May during the celebration of the reunification of his relics.
The annual celebration takes place at the Monastery of Santa Chiara. Every year, a large crowd gathers to view and pray over the sealed vials of Saint Januarius’ dried blood.  The believers pray in the hope that the miracle blood liquefies once again.  It is said that when the blood fails to liquefy, something tragic will happen to the city of Naples that year.
There are times when the blood liquefies instantly and at other times it takes days. Â But once the miracle happens, the city erupts in celebration as the archbishop presents the vials of flowing blood to the jubilant crowd. Â Fireworks light up the night sky and a twenty-one gun salute is fired from the cannons of the medieval Castel Nuovo.
Of course, there have been times when Saint Januarius’ blood has failed to liquefy, such as in 1528. In that year, Naples suffered at least two known hardships.  First, the French fleet lifted its then siege on Naples and acknowledged Spain’s claim to that city, an unwelcome result to the Napolitanos.  Also, Campi Flegrei, a volcano in the western portion of Naples, erupted, creating a new caldera named Monte Nuovo (New Mountain).
St. Januarius' blood has liquefied annually for hundreds of years.
In 1980, Saint Januarius’ blood failed to liquefy again and an earthquake, whose epicenter was 50 miles south of Naples, struck the region. It measured 6.9 on the Richter scale and claimed the lives of 2,735 people and injured more than 7,500.
The Vatican has never formally commented on the miracle of Saint Januarius. In fact, because Saint Januarius is so obscure in history, the Catholic Church had plans to eliminate him from the liturgical calendar. Â This was met with stiff pressure from believers throughout the world who quickly forced the Catholic Church to maintain Saint Januarius’ stature.
Scientists have yet to find a cause for Saint Januarius’ blood liquefying.  Several theories have surfaced, including some in more recent times.  One of these more recent theories is that the blood vials contain a thixotropic gel whose viscosity changes when it is moved or stirred. Another theory is that the vials do not contain blood at all but hydrated iron oxide which resembles blood.  However, research has determined that thixotropic gel has a shelf life of only a few years and, therefore, the vials could not be filled with it.  In addition, both theories can be dismissed on the grounds that a spectroscopic analysis of Saint Januarius’ blood vial conducted in 1902 and additional analysis in 1989 confirmed that the contents of the vial were consistent with hemoglobin.  While researchers have not yet found a known cause for the Saint Januarius mystery, most scientists have ruled out willful fraud. On the other hand, those same researchers are loath to explain the phenomenon as supernatural.
As researchers continue to develop their theories, the city of Naples prays each year for the liquefaction of Saint Januarius’ blood as it has for centuries.  The crowd cheers when the archbishop displays the liquid blood to the masses.  For the people know that if the blood fails to liquefy, Naples will suffer.
Sources:
The Blood Miracle of St. Januarius (San Gennaro)
Volcanism of Italy
Michael Report: Wars of Italy
Wikipedia St. Januarius
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claireshana on 
fallenone on 
Wow, that is a pretty amazing story. It is not beyond the realms of possibility that the vials are being switched; although, it would be a pretty long running magic trick. I would be interested to know exactly how much scientific analyses of the phenomenon has been permitted. I’m thinking, take a sample of the blood, set up surveillance for a year from that point, then observe and test two of the ritual demonstrations. Better still, have scientists oversee the whole process, not allowing anyone else to get within a mile of those vials. Regardless, it is indeed a great historic mystery and one that warrants more research.