The. His feast day is September 19 in the liturgical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church.[2]. His first name was actually Procolus, belonging to the gens (family) Ianuaria. A quick liquefaction is considered a sign of good luck while its delay or failure are taken as negative omens. San Gennaro (Ianuarius) was born around 272 AD, near Benevento. During the day, the vials are exposed to the public and the blood contained in them becomes liquid among the prayers of the faithful. The Feast of San Gennaro, the patron saint and protector of the city of Naples, is celebrated every year on September 19. How did it begin? In every emergency Saint Gennaro is their powerful champion and universal helper. All Rights Reserved. In 1926 with keeping their Neapolitan traditions they decided to have a one day block party for their patron saint and protector of Naples, San Gennaro which continued year after year something that has now and for decades become not only a New York icon but a world known 11 day event which stretches throughout 11 blocks of the Little Italy neighborhood. Centered on Mulberry Street, which is closed to traffic for the occasion, the festival generally features sausages, zeppole, street vendors, games, parades and other such attractions. The Neapolitans pray to him for protection from fires, earthquakes, plagues, droughts and the eruption of Mt. San Gennaro is patron saint of Naples, in whose cathedral two ampoules are preserved with a liquid in the solid state, which tradition says was the saint's blood, and that melts three times a year. Furious, the agents beheaded him. The municipal government asked it to hire a professional manager. • In The Godfather Part II, Vito Corleone assassinates Don Fanucci at the festa 8.45 - opening the safe with double keys to take out the casket with the vials of the blood of San Gennaro; 9.00 - procession with the Cardinal and the deputation of the Chapel of the Treasure of San Gennaro; 9.15 - The propitiatory prayers and the homily by the Cardinal start. An example is the ketchup sauce that is in a solid state until shaken, when it becomes much more liquid. The celebration begins with a religious procession that starts from the oldest church in the Italian neighbourhood. The Grand Procession is held starting at 2 p.m. on the last Saturday of the feast, immediately after a celebratory Mass at the Church of the Most Precious Blood. the events that led to his consecration took place in the fourth century, during the persecution of Christians by Emperor Diocletian. In 1994, New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani declared that if the city's San Gennaro festival did not remove corrupt elements, he would shut it down. The story of San Gennaro begins in the early fourth century, during the Great Persecution under the emperor Diocletian. Mort & Ray Productions According to tradition, after Gennaro's beheading, blood was collected by a pious woman, one Eusebia, who enclosed it inside two ampoules; these became a typical iconographic symbol of San Gennaro. While Gennaro was going to Nola, where he was to meet the evil judge Timoteus, he was surprised while proselytizing, and was imprisoned and tortured. Three Italian scientists, Garlaschelli, Ramaccini and Della Sala, produced a suspension having a thixotropic behavior very similar to the fluid of San Gennaro (A Thixotropic mixture like the blood of Saint Januarius, "Nature", vol.353, 10 oct 1991). The deacon of the place was arrested along the way by order of persecutor Dragontius and Gennaro went to visit the prisoner, but, having interceded for his release, he was arrested and sentenced to be thrown to the lions. In 1389 there was a huge procession to witness the miracle: the liquid stored in the ampoules melted "as if the same day it flowed out of the saint's body." The next day, however, due to the absence of the governor himself, or because the latter realized that the people showed sympathy for the convicted, Gennaro's punishment was suspended. Similar festivals have also been sponsored in other cities, the most recent being Belmar, New Jersey. Over time, the festival expanded into an 11-day street fair organized and run by people outside the neighborhood. And most of the records about the saint’s life were written several centuries after his death. The heart of the festival is in Mulberry Street, and is characterized by parades, games and the typical sellers of sausages and donuts. He was thrown headlong into a furnace, but by the grace of God, he come through unscratched. On the way he met the pious woman with the two ampoules of the saint's blood: at the presence of the saint's head, the blood would melt. The streets are closed to traffic, and the festivities begin early in the morning and proceed late into the night. The event started small in a park, but due to its success moved to larger grounds. [4] The Las Vegas, Nevada, festival has traditional Italian cuisine, carnival rides and games, and entertainers such as Emilio Baglioni and Louis Prima's daughter, Lena Prima. The Feast of San Gennaro of the Jersey Shore was founded in 2012 by Daniel Di Cesare, whose goal was to highlight the positive contributions of Italian Americans.[3]. One of the earliest references to Saint Januarius is a portrait of the saint, found in the 5 th century AD catacombs of San Gennaro in Naples. Gennaro was the Bishop of Benevento and paid a visit to the faithful in Pozzuoli. In the Vatican Acts many mythical episodes are narrated. San Gennaro (Ianuarius) was born around 272 AD, near Benevento. He underwent torture without wavering in his resolution to remain loyal to Christ. Three times a year, the faithful rush to witness the liquefaction of the blood. According to tradition, the blood of San Gennaro melt for the first time when bishop Severus moved the saint's remains from Agro Marciano to Naples. Also, Tony Sacca brought The Feast of San Gennaro to the Las Vegas Valley, Nevada, in 1986. Dragontius then commanded that Gennaro and his companions were to be beheaded: the sentence was executed on 19 September, 305 AD. The Feast of San Gennaro takes place on Mulberry Street (Little Italy) between Canal and Houston AND on Hester between Baxter St. and Centre St. AND Grand between Baxter St. and Centre Market Place. [5], Street vendors selling sausages at the feast, Street Vendors selling cheesesteak sandwiches, sausages and other foods lines the streets, The Offices and Rectory of the Most Precious Blood Church, during the San Gennaro Festival, featuring a shrine to San Gennaro on the left, A San Gennaro shrine in the courtyard of the Most Precious Blood Church, The Feast of San Gennaro along Grand Street in 1981, "World's Largest Cannoli Unveiled (+Video)", "The Feast of San Gennaro at the Jersey Shore comes to Belmar", "San Gennaro – The Patron Saint of Naples and Little Italy, NYC", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Feast_of_San_Gennaro&oldid=979305232, Italian-American culture in New York City, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, It was also featured prominently in the 1973 movie, It is mentioned in the song "Sad Nights" by, Brian Altano tells a story about the (few) differences between the New Jersey festival and the Italian festival in, This page was last edited on 20 September 2020, at 00:57.