Italy
The bones of St Francis of Assisi, the medieval friar who inspired the late Pope Francis and generations of Christians before him, have gone on public display in Italy for the first time ever.
His skeleton is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of visitors over the month it will be on show in the Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi is his hilltop Umbrian hometown of the same name.
Four hundred volunteers has been recruited to herd them through the medieval city’s cobblestone streets and into the church to view the bones, which are held in a bulletproof glass box.
The display of his skeleton marks 800 years since the founder of the Franciscan order died in the town on 3 October 1226.
“From an organisational point of view is really a big challenge. The majority of them, the 80 per cent, are Italian, but the rest is from all over the world,” said friar Giulio Cesareo, director of the Sacred Convent of St Francis.
As it is, Assisi is one of the world’s most popular Christian pilgrimage destinations. Millions flock here each year to visit his tomb and the spectacular basilica, decorated with Giotto’s frescoes illustrating the saint’s life, that rises over it.
St Francis was born in the town in 1182, but renounced his wealth as a young man to live as a mendicant friar after receiving what he said was a vocation to rebuild and reform the church.
He is best known for his message of peace, his love of the environment, and attention to the poor — teachings that strongly inspired Pope Francis, the first pope to name himself after the saint.
While St Francis’s remains have been periodically inspected over the years by the Franciscan friars to ensure their conservation, this is the first time they are going on display publicly.
The decision to remove them from the crypt and welcome pilgrims for a month is a means to keep his message alive and give Christians a chance to pray before them, officials said.
“Francis instead is alive, because he continues to talk to the people, they want to live like him, to be inspired by him. These bones speak, “ said Cesareo.
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