Giving hope is one thing, but showing miracle that's something and apparently Pope Francis did. According to a report the Pontiff miraculously liquefied half of the solid blood of St Januarius when he kissed its vial during the congregation in Naples Italy. Meantime, the Holy Father also reached out to families of Germanwings' French Alps crash victims.
Pope Francis was in Naples last Saturday for a ceremony at Naples Cathedral. However it turned out to be an extraordinary one when Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe of Naples noticed the blood inside the vial.
"The blood has half liquefied, which shows that St. Januarius loves our Pope and Naples," Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe of Naples said.
In response to Cardinal's comment Pope said: "The bishop just announced that the blood half liquefied. We can see the saint only half loves us. We must all spread the word, so that he loves us more!"
St Januarius is the Patron Saint of the city. He's a bishop in 305 AD and one the victims of Christian persecution that time. His blood inside the vial is solid most of the time, but traditionally turns into liquid every the saint's feast day on September 19, Saturday prior to first Sunday of May, and December 16. According Catholic Herald, the last time it was turned into liquid in front of a Pope was when Pius IX visited in 1848. Thus, when St. John Paul came in 1979 and Pope Benedict XVI's visit in 2007 in Naples it didn't change into solid.
In Yahoo's report, when the blood remains solid during its liquefying ceremony it brings bad omen. Two of the many historical accounts connected to it were cholera breakout in 1833 and Allied aircraft's bombings during World War II in 1944.
Meantime, Pope Francis expressed his sympathy to families of the victims Germanwings crash in the French Alps. The A320 Airbus crash, which according to The Independent was due to suicide and mass murder aim of 28-year-old co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, killed 150 people.
"Having learned of the tragic plane crash in the region of Digne, which caused many casualties, including many children, His Holiness Pope Francis joins in the grief of the families, expressing his closeness to them in sorrow. He prays for peace for the deceased, entrusting them to the mercy of God that He might welcome them into His dwelling place of peace and light. He expresses his deep sympathy for all those touched by this tragedy, as well as for the rescue workers working in difficult conditions. The Holy Father asks the Lord to give strength and consolation to all, and, as a comfort, he invokes upon them the abundance of divine Blessings," the telegram from Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin via Vatican Radio.
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