At 5:52 p.m. yesterday, August 25, in the Chapel of the Treasury, Abbot Monsignor Vincenzo De Gregorio announced that the blood of St. Gennaro appeared “completely liquid” at the time of the display of the reliquary containing the Saint's relics. After the announcement, the relic was offered for kissing by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Archbishop Emeritus of Naples Crescenzio Sepe. The event is exceptional: it is in fact the second liquefaction of the day, following that of the blood of St. Patricia, the patron saint of Naples whose liturgical memorial falls today. A fact that, according to historians, would be unprecedented. Archbishop Domenico Battaglia showed the casket to the faithful present in the cathedral and was greeted by a long applause. The display took place at the opening of National Liturgical Week. “Today we need the commitment of all men,” Parolin stressed, “but also the intercession of the saints, and St. Gennaro can still help us in difficult times”. Mayor Gaetano Manfredi called the prodigy “a beautiful sign, at a time of reflection on fundamental issues for our society and in a difficult period for the whole world”.