Franciscans, Pope Leo mark beginning of 800th anniversary year of St. Francis of Assisi’s death

January 10, 2026

Pope Leo XIV and the leaders of Franciscan communities marked the beginning of the 800th anniversary year of the death of St. Francis of Assisi.

Leaders of six Franciscan communities and associations gathered today in the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels in Assisi for a ceremony marking the beginning of the anniversary year (English program). Following the ceremony, the six leaders released “A Seed for Eternal Life,” a joint letter on St. Francis of Assisi and his spiritual legacy.

In a letter for the occasion, Pope Leo expressed hope that St. Francis’s message of peace might “find a profound echo in the Church and society today.”

In the letter, dated January 7 and released today, Pope Leo told the ministers general of the Conference of the Franciscan Family:

He [St. Francis] heard a call: “The Lord revealed to me that we should say this greeting: “May the Lord give you peace.” With these essential words, he conveys to his friars and to every believer the inner wonder that the Gospel had brought into his life: peace is the sum of all God’s gifts, a gift that comes from above. What an illusion it would be to think that it can be built by human efforts alone! And yet it is an active gift, to be welcomed and lived every day ...

The peace that the Seraphic Father proclaims is the peace that Christ himself made resound between heaven and earth. In this age, marked by so many seemingly interminable wars, by internal and social divisions that create mistrust and fear, he continues to speak. Not because he offers technical solutions, but because his life points to the authentic source of peace.

“The Franciscan vision of peace is not limited to the relations between human beings, but also embraces the whole of creation,” Pope Leo continued. “Francis, who calls the sun ‘brother’ and the moon ‘sister,’ who recognizes in every creature a reflection of divine beauty, reminds us that peace must be extended to the entire family of Creation. This insight resonates with particular urgency in our time, when our common home is threatened and cries out under exploitation.”

“Peace with God, peace among human beings and with creation are inseparable dimensions of a single call to universal reconciliation,” the Pope added.

 

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Further information:

• Apertura dell'VIII Centenario del Transito di San Francesco (1226-2026)
• Letter of the Holy Father Leo XIV to the Ministers General of the Conference of the Franciscan Family on the occasion of the opening of the Eighth Centenary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi [10 January 2026]