The blood of St. Januarius did not liquefy during a ceremony in the cathedral of Naples on December 16.

A vial of the blood of St. Januarius, the patron of Naples, is exposed for veneration three times each year: on the saint’s feast day, September 19; on the first Saturday in May; and on December 16, the anniversary of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The miraculous liquefication of the blood had been observed on the two previous occasions this year.

The failure of the saint’s blood to liquefy has been associated with natural disasters in Naples.