On October 31, 2026, the exhibition Seven Centuries of Franciscan Presence in Bulgaria opened at the St. Bonaventure Library at the Seraphicum College in Rome. The exhibition commemorates the 800th anniversary of the transitus of St. Francis of Assisi.
The exhibition was organized by the Bulgarian School Asen and Ilia PEJKOVI in Rome and the Parallel 43 Cultural Association, in collaboration with the Central Library of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the library at the Seraphicum. Those attending the opening included Professor Krasimir STANCHEV (the main speaker); the Seraphicum librarian Friar Łukasz JANKOWSKI; and Kostadin KODZHABASHEV, Bulgaria’s ambassador to the Holy See and to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
The initiative began in January 2026, when a group from the Bulgarian School started researching the library’s collections as part of a project of the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science dedicated to little-known stories of Bulgarians around the world. The researchers focused on two Conventual Franciscans from Bulgaria, Friars Giuseppe GAGOV and Giorgio ELDAROV. Both taught at the Seraphicum and later headed Vatican Radio’s Bulgarian Language Service.
While researching and digitizing the two friars’ books, articles, and scholarly works, the librarian drew the group’s attention to an iconostasis [icon screen] in the library archives whose origins had not yet been identified. Further research traced it to Friar Giorgio ELDAROV. This discovery inspired the organizers to present the artifact alongside the two friars’ books and the story of their spiritual and cultural service, complementing the exhibition prepared by the Central Library of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
The exhibition starts by explaining who St. Francis was, his spiritual legacy, and describes the various branches of the Franciscan family. It then goes on to chronicle the presence of the Franciscans in Bulgaria from the 14th century to the present day.
The exhibition covers such topics as the flourishing of Catholic culture in Čiprovci during the 17th century, the difficulties following the 1688 uprising, the arrival of the Capuchin Franciscans in the 19th century, and the life of Franciscan communities during the Iron Curtain era.
The exhibition pays particular attention to Friars Giuseppe GAGOV and Giorgio ELDAROV, whose work in academia and radio broadcasting helped maintain religious and cultural ties between Bulgaria and Bulgarian communities abroad. The friars’ books and the iconostasis also highlight the connection between this history and the Seraphicum College, where both friars taught.
The exhibition will remain on display until November 13, 2026. It is open to the public Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., at the St. Bonaventure Library, Via del Serafico 1, Rome. Admission is free, but visitors must book in advance by email. To arrange a visit or request further information, contact the librarian at biblioteca@Seraphicum.org.
St. Bonaventure Library at the Seraphicum
