The bones of St. Francis are going on public display, a mixed blessing for Assisi

ASSISI, Italy (AP) — The bones of St. Francis of Assisi, the medieval friar who inspired Pope Francis and generations of Christians before him, are going on public display for the first time, giving his hilltop Umbrian hometown yet another reason to welcome pilgrims.

That’s a mixed blessing for Assisi Mayor Valter Stoppini, residents and the Franciscan friars who are organizing the monthlong display of relics to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the saint’s death this year.

Already, nearly 400,000 people have registered to pray before the relics and Stoppini estimates the number could well reach a half-million before the bones go back into their tomb March 22.

A small army of 400 volunteers have been recruited to herd them through the medieval city’s cobblestone streets and into the lower Basilica of St. Francis to view the bones, which are held in a bulletproof glass box.

That will put enormous strain on the city’s center, with its narrow souvenir-lined streets and limited services. But it will also test the patience of Assisi’s residents, who are no stranger to mass influxes of pilgrims, but usually just for limited celebrations.

“We’re used to this kind of event, but that lasts for one, two or three days,” Stoppini said. “This is something prolonged, for a month, so I’m a bit worried, but calm.”

As it is, Assisi is one of the world’s most popular Christian pilgrimage destinations, located on a hill in the Umbrian countryside and built with a pink-tinged limestone that gives it its unique glow, especially at sunset.

Millions of pilgrims flock here each year thanks to the presence of St. Francis’ tomb and the spectacular basilica, decorated with Giotto’s frescoes illustrating the saint’s life, that rises over it.

St. Francis was born into a wealthy family in 1182, but renounced his wealth to live as a mendicant friar after receiving what he said was a vocation to rebuild and reform the church.

He is best known for his message of peace, his love of creation and attention to the poor -- teachings that strongly inspired Pope Francis, the first pope to name himself after the saint.

While St. Francis’ remains have been periodically inspected over the years by the Franciscan friars to ensure their conservation, this is the first time they are going on display publicly.

The decision to remove them from the crypt and welcome pilgrims for a month is a means to keep his message alive and give Christians a chance to pray before them, officials said.

Stoppini said a monthlong exhibition was the maximum he could ask of Assisi’s residents given the strain on the city that already saw a massive influx of pilgrims in 2025.

While Assisi is famous for St. Francis, a new saint is drawing a new generation of pilgrims: Carlo Acutis, who was canonized last year by Pope Leo XIV as the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint.

Acutis, who died at age 15 of leukemia, is buried in a different Assisi basilica, but his wild popularity especially among young Latin Americans has turned Assisi into a new religious destination for Catholic youth groups visiting Italy.

“When we go out onto the piazza, we find many people who ask us ‘Where’s Carlo? Where’s Carlo?'” said Brother Marco Moroni, the custodian of the convent of St. Francis.

Last year alone saw a 30% increase in the number of pilgrims, though that was likely due to both Acutis’ canonization and the Holy Year, which brought some 33 million pilgrims to Rome, many of whom also traveled on to Assisi.

“The beautiful thing is that saints don’t go to war against one another, thanks be to God,” he added.

“Many who come to the basilica go to see Carlo, and many who go to Carlo Acutis come to the basilica, creating an osmosis and a growing movement that does though create some problems for the city.”

For the souvenir merchants of Assisi, who make their living off religious tourists and pilgrims who flock to the picturesque town, a monthlong event is welcome.

“Other people will see what we see every day,” with Francis’ spirit imbuing the town, said shopkeeper Arianna Catarinelli, who works in a souvenir shop in the main drag of town leading to the basilica.

The shop features Assisi-emblazoned sweatshirts, pens featuring Acutis’ photo, St. Francis-themed coffee mugs and neon rosaries.

“For residents, finding parking isn’t easy. But for businesses, I think it’s positive that there are so many people,” she said.

To cope with the influx, city hall has created new parking lots outside the city center and runs a shuttle service to bring people into town.

Assisi resident Riccardo Bacconi, who works in a local bank branch, said he hoped the extra parking lots will be the legacy of the exposition that will continue to make life easier for locals.

Speaking after he went for a morning run Saturday, Bacconi acknowledged the town lives from tourism and anyone who chooses to live here has to put up with it.

“I don’t judge it negatively, economically it’s important,” he said. “There are more advantages than disadvantages.”

Friars pray before the remains of Francis of Assisi inside the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Assisi, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, on the eve of a public exposition beginning Feb. 22 to mark the 800th anniversary of his death in 1226. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Friars and a nun pray before the remains of Francis of Assisi inside the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Assisi, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, on the eve of a public exposition beginning Feb. 22 to mark the 800th anniversary of his death in 1226. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Journalists record the remains of Francis of Assisi inside the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Assisi, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, on the eve of a public exposition beginning Feb. 22 to mark the 800th anniversary of his death in 1226. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Friars pray before the remains of Francis of Assisi inside the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Assisi, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, on the eve of a public exposition beginning Feb. 22 to mark the 800th anniversary of his death in 1226. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Journalists record the remains of Francis of Assisi inside the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Assisi, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, on the eve of a public exposition beginning Feb. 22 to mark the 800th anniversary of his death in 1226. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

From left, TV Lorena Bianchetti, Friar Giulio Cesareo director of the communications office of the Basilica of St. Francis, and Friar Marco Moroni, Custodian of the Sacred Convent, show journalists the the moment when the saint's bones were extracted from the reliquary in Assisi, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, on the eve of the public display of St. Francis' remains to mark the 800th anniversary of his death in 1226.(AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

A sparrow flies past the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, on the eve of the public display of St. Francis' remains to mark the 800th anniversary of his death in 1226.(AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Faithful pray inside the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, on the eve of the public display of St. Francis' remains to mark the 800th anniversary of his death in 1226.(AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

A general view of the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, on the eve of the public display of St. Francis' remains to mark the 800th anniversary of his death in 1226.(AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

People visit the Basilica of St. Francis with Giotto's frescoes in Assisi, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, on the eve of the public display of St. Francis' remains to mark the 800th anniversary of his death in 1226.(AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

TESERO, Italy (AP) — Outside the Olympic cross-country stadium in this Dolomite mountain town, Norwegian flags have been draped over the railings like bunting on a national holiday.

Fans from the Scandinavian country have set up camp nearby and kept a live tally of medals won by their athletes at the Milan Cortina Games. After every victory, a gold sticker is pressed onto the board.

There have been plenty to add: Norway is now unequaled when it comes to winter gold.

A day after Johannes Dale-Skjevdal won the 15-kilometer mass start race to set a new mark, Norway was back at it Saturday, sweeping the podium in the men's 50-kilometer mass start race to extend its Winter Games record with its 18th gold medal. Norway has 40 medals overall, also a Winter Olympics record.

Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, a 29-year-old cross-country skier, was at the front of the 50-kilometer race and now has won six gold medals in Italy to take his career tally to a Winter Games record of 11 in just three Olympics.

It has also helped Norway lead the medal table for days and it should finish atop the standings when the Games wrap up Sunday.

The dominance has raised a familiar question: What makes Norway, a nation of 5.6 million people, such a superpower on the snow at the world’s biggest winter sports event?

Many believe it is a system that has few equals in winter sports.

Katerina Neumannova, a retired Czech Olympic champion, points to Norway’s structure as the foundation of its success. Cross-country skiing is among the country’s most popular sports, with hundreds of clubs and large numbers of kids starting young.

“When you have so many children, so many trainers and so many clubs all around Norway, it’s much easier to find special talent,” Neumannova told The Associated Press.

Norway, she said, has benefited from the absence of the banned Russian team as well as having a concentration of talented team officials supporting athletes, and even the lack of snow in lower latitudes affecting mainland Europe.

And its depth of public participation, she argued, provides a steady supply of elite competitors.

“Other countries usually have some gaps between generations, but the Norwegian team is very stable,” Neumannova said. “When one athlete ends, younger ones are already coming up.”

Klaebo’s race partner on Wednesday was Einar Hedegart, a 24-year-old Olympic rookie who shared gold in an earlier relay event and won bronze in the 10-kilometer interval start.

A lot Norway’s supremacy stems from tradition as the cradle of Nordic skiing. Most medals came from cross-country and biathlon whiles ski jumper Anna Odine Stroem swept both the normal and large hills, and added a silver in the mixed team event. Jens Luraas Oftebro took both Nordic combined titles.

The medals don’t stop there: Norway won in freestyle skiing, Alpine skiing and completed the speedskating set with a gold, two silvers and a bronze.

Finn Dahl, a superfan who did marketing for the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics at home in Norway, attributed his country's success to a way of life that revolves around snow.

Children, he said, often take trips with their families to the mountains, where skiing is just the normal way of getting around.

“It’s a natural way of sort of moving from one cabin to another,” Dahl said. “It’s a spirit, it is inside you.”

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Sturla Holm Laegreid, of Norway, left, and Johan-Olav Botn, of Norway, lead a group during the men's 15-kilometer mass start biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, of Norway, approaches the finish line to win the gold medal in the cross country skiing men's 50km mass start Classic at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Tesero, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Johannes Dale-Skjevdal, of Norway, poses with the gold medal for the men's 15-kilometer mass start biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Silver medalist Martin Loewstroem Nyenget, gold medalist Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo and bronze medalist Emil Iversen, all three of Norway, pose on the podium of the cross country skiing men's 50km mass start Classic at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Tesero, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)