Frank Rondel
Saint Francis of Assisi’s skeletal remains are being shown publicly in full for the first time starting Sunday, in a display expected to attract hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world, reports customreceipt.com. Housed in a nitrogen-filled transparent case engraved with the Latin phrase “Corpus Sancti Francisci,” the bones are displayed in the Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, located in the Italian hillside town where the saint lived and died.
The 13th-century saint, who passed away on October 3, 1226, renounced his wealth to dedicate his life to the poor and founded the Franciscan order. The remains, which will remain on view until March 22, were transferred to the basilica built in his honor in 1230. They were rediscovered in 1818 during carefully conducted excavations and have only been publicly exhibited once before, in 1978, for a very limited audience and just a single day.
Giulio Cesareo, director of communications for the Franciscan convent in Assisi, explained that the fragile and worn condition of the bones reflects the saint’s complete devotion to his life’s work. “From the very beginning, Christians have venerated the bones of martyrs and relics, and this has never been experienced as something macabre,” Cesareo added. The bones, typically kept in a metal coffer inside the saint’s stone tomb in the crypt, have now been placed in a second bulletproof, anti-burglary glass case for the display. Surveillance cameras will operate 24 hours a day to ensure the security of the relics.
Marco Moroni, guardian of the Franciscan convent, reported that nearly 400,000 reservations have already been made by visitors from Italy, Brazil, North America, and Africa. Ordinarily, the basilica receives around 1,000 visitors per weekday and up to 4,000 on weekends. For this month-long exhibition, the number of visitors is expected to rise to approximately 15,000 on weekdays and up to 19,000 on weekends.
The basilica will maintain subdued lighting, and experts confirm that the sealed nitrogen-filled case ensures the preservation of the remains without exposure to outside air. Cesareo emphasized that the display conditions replicate the environment of the tomb, ensuring no impact on the bones.
Saint Francis is Italy’s patron saint, and a public holiday is planned to be reinstated on October 4 as part of the 800th-anniversary commemorations of his death.
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