To quote
Professor Luigi Garlaschelli of the University of Pavia, Italy,
there is nothing quite as exciting as having a miracle in one's
very own laboratory. The investigation of the miraculous blood
of Saint Januarius gives students an opportunity to do just that,
as well as to learn about dialysis, thixotrophy, and a bit of
spectroscopy. Furthermore, similar to some of the work on the
Shroud of Turin, the desire of the experimenters for positive
results has influenced the outcome of investigations into the
nature of the miracle blood.
The miraculous blood relic of Saint Januarius
has undergone a transformation from solid to liquid when displayed
by the Bishop of Naples, Italy on the Saint's feast days, three
times a year, for the last 5 centuries. Since authorities will
not allow the ampoule holding the relic to be opened for direct
sampling of the relic, to see if it is really blood, any testing
has to be done by external optical probing or by simulating the
behavior of the miraculous blood. A number of scientists have
attempted exactly that, with the most successful being Professor
Garlaschelli, who, along with colleagues Franco Ramaccini and
Sergio Della Salla, simulated the thixotropic behavior of the
blood using what could have been an alchemical concoction of calcium
carbonate and ferric chloride. Their blood behaves similarly to
that of the miracle relic and can be easily and safely made in
a general chemistry laboratory. The hyperlinked manuscript Better Blood Through Chemistry: Laboratory Replication
of a Miracle describes the process in great detail as well
as the history of the blood and some of the unscientific attempts
at its validation.
Figure 1. The Miracle Blood of Saint Januarius
(A) Professor Bollone studies the blood relic with a spectroscope
(B) Professor Garlaschelli - click on the image for a collage
showing Professor Garlaschelli in his laboratory, and the blood
relic held by the Bishop of Naples
Further Reading:
Page prepared by: Mike Epstein
Last Modified: 30 April 1999
Return to the Main Index
Page