While the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi was not on most people’s radars, it had been eagerly anticipated by Franciscans. As early as October 2024, Franciscan University had begun planning a pilgrimage to Assisi and Rome for March 2026 especially to mark this important anniversary.
Assisi is one of my favorite places in the world, and even 18 months out, I was excited about leading pilgrims there to celebrate the life of St. Francis. But I had no idea what would transpire before our group even set foot in Italy.
In the late summer of 2025, the announcement came that the bones of St. Francis would be exhumed and made available for public veneration—for the first time in 800 years and only for 30 days. As grace would have it, our pilgrimage was scheduled to be in Assisi during that window.
Then, in January 2026, still in his rookie season, Pope Leo XIV would declare a Jubilee Year of St. Francis, writing:
“Dear brothers and sisters, may the example and spiritual legacy of this saint, strong in faith, steadfast in hope, and ardent in active charity toward his neighbor, inspire in everyone the importance of trusting in the Lord, of living a life faithful to the Gospel, and of accepting and illuminating every circumstance and action of life with faith and prayer.”
We began the pilgrimage in Rome, where our provost, Dr. Steve Hildebrand, and I were blessed to meet Pope Leo and congratulate him. When I introduced myself as president of Franciscan University of Steubenville, he immediately responded, “Steubenville.” It was a brief but meaningful encounter.
As significant as that moment was, my heart—and really the purpose of the pilgrimage—was always in Assisi.
I’ve been to Assisi dozens of times, but I had never found it so busy. With the recent canonization of St. Carlo Acutis, whose tomb is also in Assisi, the Jubilee celebration, and the bones of Francis available for veneration, Assisi was bustling with activity.
We had to wait for two days for our scheduled veneration time, which we easily filled with visits to San Damiano, Santa Chiara, the hermitages, and the Portiuncula. But on Friday morning, at 8:00 a.m., we arrived at the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, where we filed through several lines to the saint’s remains.
I must admit, while I was looking forward to the opportunity, I was also a bit apprehensive, thinking it might be crowded, chaotic, and loud. It was nothing like that. The organizers did such an amazing job creating a prayerful, peaceful environment. Everything moved so smoothly and reverently, and before I knew it, the bones of St. Francis were before me. It was profoundly moving to be in the presence of Francis. My first reaction was how intact his skeletal frame was. My second, how short he was. Each pilgrim was given about 20 seconds with Francis’ earthly remains before we were invited to move on. While quick, it wasn’t rushed; it was a blessing.
It took several minutes to wind my way outside the basilica, and then, I had some time for prayer and reflection. This poor little man from Assisi has impacted the Church and the world, it could be argued, more than any other saint except our Blessed Mother. But what did Francis do? He was not a prolific author, nor a soaring intellect, nor a martyr. He believed that to find Jesus, we must let go, be little, be small. If we can do that, we will encounter Jesus.
This is what struck me when I joined the Franciscans. I looked at St. Francis’ remarkable life, and while I never thought I could be a saint like him, I thought maybe I could try to be empty, small, and, in time, become more like Jesus. Francis has provided me—and our University community—a path forward. I will forever be grateful for his witness and his yes.
May each of us, as St. Francis did time after time, “begin again.”
In Christ,
Father Dave, TOR ’89
