The third and final miracle of the liquefaction of the blood of San Gennaro is expected in Naples on Sunday, December 16th. This lesser-known event, compared to the processions in May and September 19th, commemorates the miracle of December 16, 1631, the day of a tremendous eruption of Vesuvius. According to believers, the display of the blood and bust of the patron saint in a procession on the Ponte dei Granili bridge halted the magma that threatened to destroy the city. The December ceremony is held in the Chapel of the Treasure of San Gennaro, inside the Cathedral. The Chapel and the Treasure of San Gennaro are managed by the Deputation of San Gennaro, a secular institution established on January 13, 1527, by vote of the city and presided over by the mayor of Naples. The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, December 16, when deputies in tailcoats, accompanied by the abbot of the Chapel, Monsignor Vincenzo De Gregorio, who will officiate the religious service, will open the safe to collect the ampoules. Mass will be celebrated at 10:15 a.m., followed by the veneration of the blood until 12:30 p.m. At 4:00 PM, the safe will be reopened to display the relics for the ritual of the kiss until 6:00 PM. For the occasion, the Museum of the Treasure of San Gennaro will extend its opening hours until 6:00 PM. This year, the traditional waving of the white handkerchief to announce the possible occurrence of a miracle will be entrusted to Marquis Riccardo Imperiali of Francavilla, a member of the Deputation, who in 2015 was the legal protagonist of the victorious battle to defend the secular nature and independence of the ancient body against the ministerial decree requiring the presence of members appointed by the Curia in the Deputation. The Treasury Museum will display the project with the sketch of the obelisk that Cosimo Fanzago created in Largo Riaro Sforza, in front of the ancient entrance gate to the cathedral. The obelisk was erected in 1637 by the Deputation following a vow made to the patron saint if he would stop the eruption of Vesuvius.
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