The Italian Parliament took this week an important step with a view to converting the party of San Francisco de Asís, on October 4, into a national holiday.
The Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Parliament of Italy, voted to approve the bill on September 23, with 247 votes in favor of the proposal and two against. Eight people abstained.
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There is great expectation in which the project becomes law, but first must be voted in the other Chamber of the Italian Parliament, the Senate. No date has been set for the vote in the Senate on the bipartisan initiative presented by the Centrodécharecha “Noi Moderati” party.
San Francisco is considered the Patron Saint of Italy, and his party was held as a national holiday in the country until 1977. The year 2026 will be a year of significant celebration, since it will mark the 800 anniversary of the death of San Francisco in 1226.
The president of the Chamber of Deputies, Lorenzo FontanaHe said: “I am pleased that the Chamber has given the initial approval to this proposal: rediscovering San Francisco also means reviving his message of peace, which is more pertinent than ever.”
Italy currently has 12 national labor holidays in the calendar, of which eight are based solely on religious parties, including the epiphany on January 6, on Easter Monday, the Assumption of Mary on August 15, the day of All Saints on November 1, the Immaculate Conception on December 8, Christmas Day on December 25 and the San Esteban Mártir party on December 26.
The eighth religious base holiday varies from city in city, since it is the patron feast of the place. The solemnity of San Pedro and San Pablo, on June 29, is a holiday in Rome because they are the patron saints of the city.
The other four national holidays are January 1, New Year (also the solemnity of Mary, Madre de Dios); on April 25, the celebration of the Liberation of Italy of Nazi-Fascism in 1945; on May 1, Labor Day (also the feast of San José Obrero); and on June 2, the holiday that marks the birth of the Italian Republic in 1946.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Press team. Originally published in CNA.
Hannah Brockhaus
Hannah Brockhaus is correspondent in Rome by Catholic News Agency. He grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and has a degree in English from the State University Truman in Missouri.