Public veneration of St. Francis of Assisi’s relics ends

Sunday, March 22, marked the end of the public veneration of St. Francis' remains, exposed for a month in the Lower Church of the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi.

This was the first time his relics were displayed and more than 370,000 pilgrims from all over the world came to see them. The public veneration was part of several events scheduled this year to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the Saint’s death.

To conclude the month, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, Archbishop of Bologna and President of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, celebrated Mass in the Upper Church of the Basilica.

In his homily, he highlighted this current time period marked by individualism and conflict, in which “the tragic illusion is to fight evil with evil.” He said Christians are called to an “unarmed strength” born of the Resurrection, which opposes death and everything that leads to it.

“In this season that exalts force,” the Cardinal urged, “let us listen to the message of peace. How much fear and violence would already be disarmed if we simply said, with our faces and our words, ‘peace be with you.’”