STATUE OF NAPLES PATRON SAINT GENNARO DURING PROCESSION, 2003-05-03 (photo)

The statue and the glass vial of Naples patron Saint Gennaro during a procession in central Naples, 3 May, 2003. The procession begins as the Cardinal of Naples Michele Giordano, shows the Neapolitan faithful the 'glass vial' which they believe is the dried blood of their patron St. Gennaro, which liquifies in a twice-yearly miracle. Cheers went up among the 3,000 strong congregation when an aide to the cardinal waved a white hankerchief as a signal that the blood had become liquid. Italian scientists have confirmed that the substance is blood but have not discovered why it liquifies regularly. The miracle has been recorded on set dates twice a year, almost without fail for the past 600 years.REUTERS/ Mario Laporta ML