For the first time in eight centuries, the body of St. Francis of Assisi will be visible to pilgrims and visitors. The Franciscan community in Assisi has announced that the saint’s mortal remains will be displayed from February 22 to March 22, 2026, marking the 800th anniversary of his death.
With the approval of Pope Leo XIV, the body will be moved from its tomb in the crypt to the foot of the papal altar in the Lower Basilica so the faithful can pray before it.
Organizers say the month-long exposition is meant to be a moment of prayer and encounter, open to all. Due to anticipated crowds, free online reservations will be required, with options for guided group visits of the basilica, led by a friar or individual silent visits. The route will be accessible, with special provisions for people with disabilities, and two international Masses will be celebrated daily in the Upper Basilica during the period.
The announcement coincides with a wider national observance: Italy has restored October 4 as a civil holiday honoring St. Francis. The measure takes effect in 2026 and was welcomed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who called the saint a foundational figure for Italian identity. The reinstated holiday, first created in 1958 and dropped in 1977, returns just as Assisi prepares for an extraordinary influx of visitors during the centenary year.
At the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV chose St. Francis’ feast to sign his first apostolic exhortation, Dilexi te (“I Have Loved You”), a text focused on poverty that will be presented this week. Addressing pilgrims at a Jubilee audience the same day, he prayed “to be a church that does not serve money or itself, but the kingdom of God and his justice.” The moment set a tone for the centenary: a renewed attention to simplicity, mercy, and the dignity of those on the margins.
Why does this display matter beyond the Catholic world? St. Francis — Italy’s patron and a 13th-century seeker who gave up wealth for a life of service — has long appealed to people of many beliefs for his love of peace, care for creation, and closeness to the poor.
For Catholics, venerating relics is one way to honor God’s work in a person’s life; the Catechism names such devotion among the Church’s expressions of popular piety (CCC 1674). For others, the Assisi exposition offers a rare, unfiltered encounter with history that still shapes how many communities choose compassion over status.
Travelers planning a visit during the window can expect a reverent, carefully managed experience in one of Europe’s most storied sacred spaces. Whether you come as a pilgrim or a curious guest, Assisi will invite you to consider how a single life — lived with disarming poverty and joy — continues to change hearts and public life eight hundred years on.
