The 8th Centenary of the death of St. Francis was given a preview at the opening of the 2025 Cortile di Francesco [Courtyard of Francis Symposium in Assisi].
The preview took place on the evening of September 6, 2025, during the opening of the 2025 Cortile di Francesco. Titled CreAzione, the event featured a roundtable discussion called “Communicating New Creative Energies.” Representatives from the creative, corporate, and journalistic worlds participated, including Carlos CASAS, Natalia BORRI, Francesco CONTICELLO, Antonio ROMANO, and Carlo VERDELLI. The event was held in collaboration with the Suoni Controvento [Sounds Against the Wind] Festival and RAI [Italian Public Radio] Umbria, with special thanks to Lucia FIUMI and director Giovanni PARAPINI.
At the end of the roundtable discussion, friars from the Sacred Convent and the Basilica of St. Francis presented the launch of a new website: www.sanfrancescovive.org. This platform was designed to guide everyone through the initiatives marking the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi (1226–2026). It is meant to be an online meeting and reflection place, where visitors can deepen their understanding of the life, spirituality, and timeless legacy of St. Francis. His message of love, simplicity, and fraternity continues to inspire people of all ages and backgrounds.
The new website offers updates on events, photo and video galleries, links to social media, a press room, and an online form for inquiries and newsletter subscriptions. Special attention is given to young people, with sections for those interested in connecting with the friars in Assisi or around the world. An English version of the site will be available soon.
Friar Marco MORONI, Custos of the Sacred Convent, stated:
“With the online publication of www.sanfrancescovive.org […] we are stepping into this great anniversary, which invites us to rediscover St. Francis as an important figure for us all […] He gives us hope and offers us a direction for our lives, regardless of our personal beliefs, age, origin, or life goals. […] What is rooted in self-giving and love is not bound by death—it bears fruit and lives on through community and fraternity. This is an extraordinary message for our world today, no matter where we are.”
Coinciding with the website launch, the “Calendario ufficiale 2026 ‘San Francesco Vive‘” [Official “San Francesco Vive” Calendar for 2026] was also presented. The calendar was created by photographer Gianluigi DI NAPOLI. For the first time, the friars of the Sacred Convent have opened the doors of their community to the gaze of an outside photographer, capturing the continuity between St. Francis’ testimony and the simple, dedicated lives of the friars today. Gianluigi DI NAPOLI stated:
“For the first time in their history, the friars of the Sacred Convent have chosen to open their doors to the gaze of a photographic author […] I approached as a silent presence, intending to evoke, absorb, and convey something of the invisible that can be felt in its spaces.”
The calendar is available free of charge to pilgrims visiting the Basilica and can also be requested online.
To accompany the calendar presentation, an exhibition was set up in the portico of the Lower Square of the Basilica of St. Francis featuring blow-ups of the calendar. It can be visited until Christmas of 2025, and was made possible by collaboration between Graphic Masters Printing and the Technical Office of the Sacred Convent.
The website and the calendar are part of a larger project aimed at preserving and spreading the relevance of St. Francis’ message, inviting everyone to rediscover its universal power of fraternity, peace, and unity.
For further details and to read the full press release with all content and event information, go to:
Press Office of the Sacred Convent of St. Francis
Conventual Franciscan Editorial Staff
