Like every year, Assisi is paying tribute to Saint Francis with meetings, celebrations and events which, already in the days preceding the festivities, remember the Patron Saint of Italy.

In addition to the usual appointments in the places of Franciscan importance, such as the presentation of the "Rosa d'argento" award at the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli and the pilgrimage to the Cappella del Transito (the Transitus Chapel), there is also an initiative dedicated to young people: "8500 passi con Francesco…l'amore che non muore" (8500 steps with Francis…the love that never dies), a night-time walk from Santa Maria degli Angeli to the Basilica of San Francesco.

At the heart of the celebrations is the high mass on the 4th October, broadcast live on national television, and the traditional lighting of the "Lampada Votiva dei Comuni d'Italia", a vigil oil lamp which burns in front of the tomb of Saint Francis, with the oil this year offered by the region of Lombardy.

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