PHOTO Historical premiere in Italy: The relics of a saint from the 13th century, exposed to the public. Hundreds of thousands of visitors, expect
Pilgrims and visitors line up inside the Basilica of Assisi to see the relics of Saint Francis. Credit line: Gregorio Borgia / AP / Profimedia
The relics of Saint Francis, the spiritual patron of Italy, will be accessible to the general public for the first time starting Sunday as part of a month-long exhibition in Assisi. Organizers are expecting hundreds of thousands of visitors, with a flow of up to 19,000 people per day over the weekend, according to The Guardian.
The remains of the saint who gave up his fortune to found the Franciscan order are on display today in the Basilica of Assisi, in a Plexiglas case filled with nitrogen. The box bears the Latin inscription “Corpus Sancti Francisci” and is placed in the place of worship erected in his honor in the Italian hill town.
Giulio Cesareo, the monastery's director of communications, said he hoped the exhibition would be “a meaningful experience” for believers and non-believers alike. He added that the “deteriorated” condition of the bones demonstrates how the saint devoted himself completely to his life's work.
The saint's tomb was secretly found only in 1818, almost six centuries after it had been transferred to the Basilica of Assisi, built in his honor. The current exhibition of the relics, which will end on March 22, represents the second public presentation in history, after the one-day one in 1978.
The relics were removed from the metal chest in the crypt on Saturday and placed in a structure secured with bullet-proof and burglar-proof glass. For additional protection, the entire perimeter is video monitored 24 hours a day.
To date, there have already been almost 400,000 bookings from around the world, according to the monastery's guardian, Marco Moroni. The exhibition takes place in the context of preparations to mark the 800th anniversary of the death of Saint Francis, a day that will be reinstated as a public holiday in Italy on October 4.
Experts assure that prolonged exposure will not affect the state of preservation of the relics, as the display case is hermetically sealed, maintaining the same conditions as inside the tomb. The light in the basilica will also remain dim throughout the month, with Giulio Cesareo stating that the place of worship is “not a film set”.
