For the first time in 800 years, the body of St. Francis of Assisi will be on display for the general public. The announcement was made from the Loggia delle Benedizioni by Fray Giulio Cesareo, director of the press office of the Sacred Convent. The announcement was made on October 4, the Feast of St. Assisi, which has been recently reinstated as a civil holiday in Italy. St. Francis’s remains will be displayed at the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi from February 22 to March 22, 2026 during the 800^th anniversary of his death.

A statement from Sacro Convento called the display “An extraordinary gift, a profound invitation to prayer, and an opportunity to see the Gospel of Christ lived out fully in the life of someone just like us.” The statement said that the purpose of the exposition would be to highlight “the Gospel theme of the seed that dies to bear fruit in love and fraternity, invites us to reflect on the life of the Saint, which continues to bear fruit 800 years later and still inspires humanity along the path of peace, fraternity, service to the poor, joy, and care for creation.” The announcement also anticipated that the veneration will attract a “large influx” and that routes to see Assisi’s holy relics will be accessible to all. There will be obligatory free online reservations to help the process.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who attended the October 4 celebrations, lauded the news. “The devotion of Italians to St. Francis is strong, authentic, and visceral, which can be seen in the faces of the pilgrims present here,” she said. “Today the Italian people turn their gaze here, to Assisi, because St. Francis is one of the founding figures of the Italian identity. Francis of Assisi was a man of action, extreme but not extremist. Today we celebrate Francis not because he needs us, but because we need him.”

St. Francis’s tomb had been placed in the Vatican crypt, where it later became “inaccessible.” St. Francis’s tomb remained hidden for centuries until it was rediscovered some time late on the night of December 12^th or early morning of December 13, 1818.  The Sacred Convent stated it hoped the display would help viewers focus on Assisi’s life as well as death. “The eighth centenary of the death of St. Francis, in 2026, is a time of remembrance and renewal,” it said in a statement. “We do not celebrate death, but, recognizing it as a ‘sister’ to St. Francis, we celebrate the life that blossoms from the gift and offering of self.”