US EditionItaly Restores St. Francis Day as National Holiday
The holiday honors St. Francis of Assisi and promotes peace, fraternity, and environmental protection, adding to Italy's 12 national holidays, officials said.
- Parliamentarians restored the holiday in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi after the Senate committee approved the bill on Oct 1, 2025, with broad support. The law takes effect next year, with the first weekday observance in 2027.
- The bill frames the day as cultural initiatives honouring Saint Francis of Assisi and highlighting peace, fraternity, inclusion and environmental protection.
- The lower house backed the bill last week by 247 votes to two, and the measure was launched by the centre-right Noi Moderati party before Senate approval.
- The government estimates the cost at around 10 million euros in overtime for police and health workers, and the move increases national holidays to 12 in Italy.
- Historically, the holiday was first introduced in 1958 and scrapped in 1977 as part of austerity measures, making this a reversal after nearly fifty years.
16 Articles
16 Articles
It’s official: St. Francis’ feast day back to being a national holiday in Italy
A 13th-century fresco of St. Francis of Assisi by the Florentine painter Cimabue, one of the earliest depictions of the saint, is located in the lower church of the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Assisi, Italy. / Credit: Jacob Stein/Crux ... [...]
St. Francis’ feast day back to being a national holiday in Italy
A 13th-century fresco of St. Francis of Assisi by the Florentine painter Cimabue, one of the earliest depictions of the saint, is located in the lower church of the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Assisi, Italy. / Credit: Jacob Stein/Crux Stationalis Rome Newsroom, Oct 2, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA). Italy’s Senate Constitutional Affairs Committee, deliberating in session Wednesday, Oct. 1, approved a bill reinstating Oct. 4, the feast of St. Fr…
Italy’s Meloni hails return of St. Francis Day as national holiday
By Crispian Balmer ROME (Reuters) -Italy’s parliament voted on Wednesday to restore a national holiday in honour of St. Francis of Assisi, one of the country’s patron saints, almost half a century after it was abolished. The annual holiday will fall on St. Francis’s feast day on October 4, with the measure taking effect from next year, which marks the 800th anniversary of his death in 1226. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni welcomed the decision, sa…
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