Blood of St. Januarius liquefies again in Naples as cardinal calls for peace

The blood of St. Januarius, the patron saint of Naples, liquefied at 10:04 a.m. on September 19, 2026 in Naples Cathedral. The liquefaction is seen as a sign of hope and protection for the year ahead. Cardinal Domenico Battaglia, the archbishop of Naples, celebrated the Mass that followed and showed the vials of liquefied blood to a cathedral filled with the faithful and tourists, who responded with sustained applause and the traditional waving of white handkerchiefs.

In his homily, Battaglia asked St. Januarius to intercede for peace, in Naples and in the rest of the world. "When we come back here next year, may the only blood we speak of be yours. No one else's. Because I do not want to come back here, in front of your vial, and have to say that your blood looks like the blood of murdered children," he said.

Battaglia spoke about violence and war in various parts of the world, including Ukraine and Palestine, and about the situation in Naples, where the Camorra, the local mafia, perpetuates suffering. He described the Camorra as "a war without a declaration, without uniforms, without peace treaties," and lamented its effects on the lives of the city's young people and families.

Blood should not be treated as a statistic, the cardinal said: it has a face, a mother and a home. "Bombs become possible, reprisals, massacres, graves, children under the rubble," he warned, urging people to recognize the humanity of others and to reject violence in all its forms.

He called on Neapolitans to commit themselves to caring for their children and young people, so that hardship does not turn into neglect or violence. "We must learn to join forces," he said, calling on organizations, schools and public officials to work together to build a lasting peace.

Battaglia ended his homily with a plea to St. Januarius that next year the only blood seen flowing be the saint's own, and that the real miracle take place in the world and not only in the vial.