Saint Aspren of Naples

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Saint Aspren of Naples SAINT OF THE DAY 03-08-2020 Naples boasts the Basilica of Saint Peter in Aram, which according to tradition was founded on the place where St. Peter baptized St. Aspren (1st-2nd century), the first bishop of Naples. It also houses the Ara Petri, the altar on which the Prince of the Apostles prayed and celebrated the Eucharist before going to Rome. The famous basilica, which over the centuries has undergone various renovations, is so antique that Pope Clement VII (1523-1534) granted it the privilege of celebrating and hosting the Jubilee one year after that of Rome: this custom was maintained throughout the 16th century (1526, 1551, 1576). Inside there is also a chapel dedicated to Aspren, considered the founder of the primitive place of worship from which the present basilica originated. But under what circumstances did the saint celebrated today become a Christian? Hagiography links his name to that of Candida la Vecchia, a Jewish woman who, during Saint Peter's stay in Naples, begged him to cure her of a serious illness, promising to convert to Christianity. The apostle healed her. And Candida, venerated as a saint, decided to bring him a sick friend, our Aspren, who was in turn healed and converted. It is handed down that Peter himself consecrated him bishop and that among the acts of his episcopate there was the foundation of another paleo-Christian place of worship, dedicated to Santa Maria del Principio, later incorporated in today's basilica of Saint Restituta. Among the documents of the first millennium that attest to his episcopal ministry is the Marmoreal Calendar of Naples, engraved in the 9th century. Aspren is invoked against migraine and venerated as the second patron saint of the capital of Campania, after Saint Januarius (and remembering that Santa Maria Assunta, Our Lady of the Assumption, to whom the Cathedral is dedicated, is officially the first Patroness of the city). Two historic Neapolitan churches are named after him, namely Sant'Aspreno ai Crociferi (begun in 1633) and the older Sant'Aspreno al Porto, built where, according to tradition, the saint's dwelling was located: in a cave..

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The Neapolitan Treasury Chapel of San Gennaro and the Matter of Materials
Beyond Mere Containment: The Neapolitan Treasury Chapel of San Gennaro and the Matter of Materials Helen Hills The grand and imposing Treasury Chapel, which truly can be called a treasure, both for what is kept there, and for what was spent on it.1 What are we to make of the Treasury Chapel of San Gennaro in Naples cathedral (Figs. 1-2)? Built and decorated largely between 1608 and 1770, it is the place where the miraculously liquefying blood of San Gennaro, Naples’ principal patron saint, is kept and was also the principal site of its liquefaction. The Treasury Chapel housed relics of Naples’ many protector saints of which there were as many as thirty-two by 1731, far more than anywhere else in Europe and probably more than anywhere else in the world. At the heart of the chapel was the miraculous blood of San Gennaro (Saint Januarius), Bishop of Benevento, beheaded as a Christian in 305 in Pozzuoli. An ampule of his blood, presciently gathered by a pious Neapolitan woman, when brought into contact with his head relic either miraculously liquefies to indicate that all is well, or fails to do so, auguring calamity. In either case, the sign is interpreted as an affirmation of San Gennaro’s heavenly intercession to protect Naples. We enter via the aisles of the cathedral, through the vast subdued architectural frame of the majestic bronze gate and suddenly the chapel presents itself to our gaze (Fig. 3). Fig 1 Naples Cathedral with the Treasury Chapel of San Gennaro. Detail from Paolo Petrini, Pianta ed alzata della città di Napoli (Naples, 1718).
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Paul Halsall Saints: A Research Guide (2005) Contents Essential Websites Primary Accounts/Lives/Sources Christian Saints Saint-figures in Other Religions: Pagan Antiquity Saint-figures in Other Religions: Islam Secondary Sources Sainthood: Dictionaries, etc. Sainthood: Theory Christian Sainthood: Emergence Byzantine Sainthood Medieval Sainthood: General Medieval Sainthood: Early Medieval Medieval Sainthood: 1050-1350 Medieval Sainthood: Later Middle Ages Medieval Sainthood: Female Sanctity Medieval Sainthood: Magic and Miracle Early-Modern Catholic Sainthood Modern Catholic Sainthood Latin American Catholic/Afro-Catholic Sainthood Periphenomena of Sainthood Protestant Sainthood Jewish Sainthood Muslim Sainthood Buddhist Sainthood Hindu/Indian Sainthood Chinese/Japanese Religions' Sainthood Native American Religions' Sainthood Secular Sainthood Essential Websites Internet Medieval Sourcebook: Saints' Lives Thomas Head: Hagiography [ORB] http://orb.rhodes.edu/encyclop/religion/hagiography/hagindex.html [Has excellent online bibliographies focused on sainthood in the West.] Bollandists http://www.kbr.be/~socboll/ Alice-Mary Talbot: Byzantine Saints' Lives in Translation http://www.doaks.org/translives.html Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) http://www.knight.org/advent/cathen/ [The complete 13 volume encyclopedia ia available online. Many of its articles, especially those by Herbert Thurston were very scholarly. Still, it must be trated with care are times, both because of bias and because of age.] EWTN Library: Mary and Saints Index http://www.ewtn.com/library/indexes/MARY.htm Mixed in among a lot of pietistic accounts are some valuable online gems. Primary Accounts/Lives/Sources Christian Saints The Voyage of Saint Brendan, Journey to the Promised Land [Navigatio Sancti Brendani abbatis]. Translated with an introduction by John J. O'Meara.. Atlantic Highlands NJ: Humanities Press, 1976.
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