Huge turnout of worshippers, especially from Abruzzo, for the feast of St Francis in Assisi
After the official greetings, the liturgical celebrations concluding the day of celebration in Assisi resumed at 4 p.m. The municipal administration reports that over three thousand pilgrims from Abruzzo filled the squares and the interior of the Franciscan Shrine. There was also huge interest in the announcement of the Franciscan centenary in 2026 and the first public display of the remains of St Francis from 22 February to 22 March: the dedicated website, www.sanfrancescovive.org, was inundated with visitors, causing temporary outages in the free but mandatory booking procedure for the experience of venerating the body of St Francis.
“It was truly a day of celebration for everyone, in the truest sense of the word,” said Fra Giulio Cesareo, OFMConv, director of the Communications Office of the Sacred Convent, “because while we celebrated St Francis, we also found ourselves more united, more supportive, more respectful of one another, despite our many differences. It is true, finally, that Francis truly speaks to everyone and invites everyone to learn from him a fraternal and trusting lifestyle and way of relating to others.”
In early January 2026, the official opening of the centenary of St Francis’ death will be held in the Basilica of St Mary of the Angels in Porziuncola.
