The skeleton of St Francis of Assisi has been on full public display for the first time since Sunday, an event that will draw hundreds of thousands of visitors.
Inside a nitrogen-filled Plexiglas case with the Latin inscription “Corpus Sancti Francisci” (Body of St. Francis), the remains are on display at the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in the Italian hillside town.
Saint Francis, who died on October 3, 1226, founded the Franciscan order after renouncing his wealth and devoting his life to the poor.
Giulio Cesario, director of communications for the Franciscan convent in Assisi, said he hoped the show would be a “meaningful experience” for believers and non-believers alike.
Cesareo, a Franciscan monk, says the “damaged” and “turned” state of the bones shows that St. Francis “gave himself completely” to his life’s work.
His remains, which are on display until March 22, were transferred to a basilica built in 1230 in honor of the saint. But after top-secret excavations in 1818, his tomb was rediscovered.
Apart from previous excavations for inspection and scientific testing, the bones of St. Francis were exhibited only once, in 1978, to a very limited audience and for just one day.
Usually hidden from view, the transparent case containing the remains since 1978 was brought out on Saturday from the metal box in which it was kept inside his stone tomb in the basilica’s crypt. The case is housed inside another bullet-proof and anti-burglary glass case.
Surveillance cameras are operational 24 hours a day for additional protection of remains.
Saint Francis is the patron saint of Italy and a public holiday will be restored on October 4 to commemorate the 800th anniversary of his death.
Reservations to see the relics of the saint already number “almost 400,000 (people) coming from all over the world, with a clear predominance from Italy,” said Marco Moroni, custodian of the Franciscan convent. “But we also have Brazilians, North Americans, Africans,” he added.
At this usually quiet time of year, the basilica usually has 1,000 visitors a day on weekdays, rising to 4,000 on weekends. The Franciscans said they expect 15,000 visitors on weekdays and 19,000 on Saturdays and Sundays for the month-long display of relics.
“From the beginning, from the time of the tomb, Christians respected the bones of the martyrs, the remains of the martyrs, and they did not experience it as truly terrible,” Cesario said.
Experts say the extended display of St. Francis’ relics should not affect their state of preservation. “The display case is sealed, so there’s no contact with the outside air. In fact, it’s in the same conditions as it was in the tomb,” Cesario said.
Even the light that is suppressed in the church should not have an effect. “The basilica is not lit like a stadium,” Cesario said. “This is not a movie set.”
