Blood of saint ‘fails to liquefy’ - and it could mean 2017 is even worse than this year
With political turmoil on both sides of the Atlantic, and a seemingly huge harvest of celebrity deaths, not many people have been too fond of 2016.
But could next year actually be worse?
Well, yes, according to a religious ceremony where the dried blood of a saint is supposed to liquefy – but it failed to do so this year, which some believe can herald disaster.
Another year when it failed to liquefy was 1939 – the year when World War II began.
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The dried blood of Saint Januarius failed to liquefy in a ceremony in Naples on Saturday, according to the La Stampa newspaper.
Monsignor Vincenzo De Gregorio, the chapel’s abbot, said, ‘We must not think about disasters and calamities. We are men of faith, and we must continue to pray.’
The saint’s blood is kept in special ampoules, and liquefies visibly in regular ceremonies.
Saint Januarius was beheaded in the third century by Roman Emperor Diocletian.
