Assisi in the anniversary year

What is the St Francis 800th anniversary?

It marks 800 years since Francis died at the Porziuncola in 1226, and the Church has turned it into a Jubilee year from 10 January 2026 to 10 January 2027.

Pope Leo XIV opened a special Year of St Francis on 10 January 2026, the day the 2025 Holy Year closed, and the Apostolic Penitentiary attached a plenary indulgence to it in a decree of 10 January 2026. The year ends on Sunday 10 January 2027.

Italy marked it on the civil side too. Law 151 of 8 October 2025 made 4 October, the feast of St Francis, a national holiday again from 2026, for the first time since it was dropped in 1977. The first one fell on a Sunday.

For a visitor, the anniversary is less a single event than a year-long change of tone. The town has more organised pilgrimages than usual, more Masses with visiting bishops, and the friars at the Sacro Convento are running the basilica at full stretch.

How do you get the Jubilee indulgence in Assisi?

Make a pilgrimage to a Franciscan church, then meet the usual three conditions: confession, Communion and prayer for the Pope's intentions.

The Penitentiary decree grants the plenary indulgence to anyone who visits, as a pilgrim, any Franciscan conventual church or place of worship dedicated to St Francis, anywhere in the world. You also need to be detached from sin and intend to complete the three usual conditions: sacramental confession, Eucharistic Communion and a prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father.

Assisi has more qualifying churches than anywhere else. The obvious four:

• Basilica of St Francis, with the tomb in the crypt (open from 06:00).
• Santa Maria degli Angeli and the Porziuncola chapel, a short walk from the train station.
• San Damiano, about 20 minutes on foot below Porta Nuova.
• Chiesa Nuova, built over the house where Francis grew up.

The decree also covers the elderly, the sick and anyone who cannot leave home for serious reasons: they can join the Jubilee spiritually and offer their prayers or sufferings. Nothing has to be booked for the indulgence itself, and there is no pass or certificate.

What has happened in Assisi in 2026 so far?

The exposition of the remains drew more than 370,000 people, Pope Leo XIV came on 6 August, and 4 October brought the President of Italy to the basilica.

The one-month public exposition of the remains was the first since Francis was laid in the crypt in 1230. His bones were moved to the foot of the papal altar in the Lower Church, and visitors had to reserve a free time slot online. According to the Custos of the Sacro Convento, more than 370,000 pilgrims came.

In August Pope Leo XIV said Mass at Santa Maria degli Angeli for some 2,500 young people at the GO! Franciscan Youth Meeting, then prayed alone inside the Porziuncola. On 4 October President Mattarella and Cardinal Zuppi attended the Mass in the basilica; Avvenire counted about 25,000 people passing through the basilica over the two days.

What is still on until January 2027?

A week of events for the poor in mid-November, the Christmas season, and the close of the Jubilee on Sunday 10 January 2027.

The exhibition San Francesco alla Porziuncola, with a Cimabue portrait of the saint, runs only until 25 October 2026. After that the calendar thins out.

The friars of the Porziuncola have announced celebrations from 9 to 15 November at Santa Maria degli Angeli around the World Day of the Poor, which falls on Sunday 15 November. Then comes Christmas: the town's own festival with light projections (see our winter guide to Assisi for what ran last year), and the basilica's crib and tree, traditionally blessed on the evening of 8 December in the Lower Piazza.

The Jubilee closes on Sunday 10 January 2027. Expect a busy weekend in the town and Masses at both basilicas; no public programme for the closing had been published when we checked.

One thing you cannot do any more: see the remains. Francis is back in his stone tomb in the crypt, which you can visit every day from 06:00 to 18:15. The crypt also opens for personal prayer on Friday and Saturday evenings from 21:00 to 22:00, but only in the summer timetable (April to October).

Short on time? One focused hour inside the basilica with an official guide covers the Upper Church, the Lower Church and the tomb.

★ 4.8 · 1 hour · from $46

Explore the basilica tour with an official guide → Tour details

Is Assisi more crowded in the anniversary year?

Yes. The area logged more than 850,000 overnight stays in the first half of 2026, about 9% up on 2025, and day-trippers come on top.

The town's own figures, reported by La Nazione, show over 850,000 presences in the Assisi area from January to June 2026, up about 9% on the year before. Italian visitors drove the growth; foreign numbers were flat to down. The exposition month alone pushed the first quarter well above normal.

October to January is usually the quiet stretch. This year it is quieter than spring was, but you will still meet parish coaches from all over Italy, especially on weekends and holidays. Three rules help:

• Go on a weekday. Guided tours inside the basilica run weekdays only, 09:00 to 17:15 (on Saturday the last entry is 16:00).
• Avoid Sundays and holidays if you want a guide inside. On those days the guide explains outside and you enter alone, in silence.
• Start early. The Lower Church opens at 06:00 and the Upper Church at 08:30.

Our guide to Assisi crowds has a day-by-day table.

How should you book an Assisi visit for the rest of the Jubilee?

Entry to the basilica stays free; book only the guide, and pick a weekday that is not a holiday.

Individual visitors still need no ticket for the basilica. The official booking site recommends registering and makes it mandatory for guides and agencies, which is why licensed guides sell out on busy weeks: they need a slot. A tour that lists "admission" is not saving you money, since entry is free; you pay for the guide and a headset (2.50 to 3 euro).

Italian public holidays between now and the end of the Jubilee: Sunday 1 November, Tuesday 8 December, Friday 25 and Saturday 26 December, Friday 1 January and Wednesday 6 January. None of these allow guided tours inside the basilica. The best stretches for a guided visit are the weekdays of November, the first week of December and 7 to 8 January.

Coming from Rome? The regional train costs 14.45 euro each way and takes 2 to 2.75 hours; from Florence it is 17.60 euro. Check times on Trenitalia, and read our Rome day trip guide for the bus up from the station.

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