Saint / folklore
Sant'Aspreno
Background
Aspren or Asprenas was a 1st-century Christian saint and venerated as the first Bishop of Naples.
According to tradition, Aspren was the first bishop of Naples, healed and baptised by St Peter himself on his way to Rome. His small chapel, Sant’Aspreno al Porto, is among the oldest Christian sites in the city. When the Stock Exchange (Palazzo della Borsa) was built over the area at the end of the nineteenth century, the chapel was preserved inside it, and it can still be visited.
He is the protector against headaches and migraines. The cure is to put your head into a hollow in the stone of his altar while praying. A popular Neapolitan joke claims that aspirin is named after him. It isn’t, but the story is often told.
Aspren · Chiesa di Sant’Aspreno al Porto (it) · Palazzo della Borsa (Napoli) (it)
· Wikipedia ↗ · Search Google ↗In Naples ’44
The patron invoked against headaches: sufferers push their heads through a hole in the wall of his chapel in search of relief — one of the cures Lewis lists in the miracle-fever of spring 1944.
Appears in 1 diary entry.
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March 25 1944Widespread fear that San Gennaro's blood may fail to liquefy reflects a surge of religious "miracle" fervor sweeping wartime Naples.
patron saint invoked against headaches; sufferers push their heads through a hole in the wall of his chapel seeking relief
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