Feast of Saints Francis and Catherine
Official nameItalian: San Francesco e Santa Caterina, patroni d'Italia, lit. 'Saint Francis and Saint Catherine, patrons of Italy'[1]
Observed byItaly, and in general Christians of Italian ancestry
TypeReligious, historical, cultural
SignificanceTo honour Francis of Assisi and Catherine of Siena, patron saints of Italy and other locations
Date4 October
Next time4 October 2024 (2024-10-04)
FrequencyAnnual

The patronal feast of Saint Francis and Saint Catherine (Italian: festa patronale di san Francesco e santa Caterina)[a] is a religious and civil celebration annually held on 4 October in Italy[1] and other locations influenced by Christianity.

Patronage

Francis
A relic of Francis of Assisi

On 18 June 1939, Pope Pius XII named Francis a joint patron saint of Italy along with Catherine of Siena with the apostolic letter "Licet Commissa".[2] Pope Pius also mentioned the two saints in the laudative discourse he pronounced on 5 May 1949, in the Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva.[citation needed]

Francis is the patron of animals and ecology.[3] As such, he is the patron saint of the Laudato Si' Movement, a network that promotes the Franciscan ecological paradigm as outlined in the encyclical Laudato Si'.[4]

He is also considered the patron against dying alone; against fire; patron of the Franciscan Order and Catholic Action;[5] of families, peace, and needleworkers.[6] and a number of religious congregations.[5]

He is the patron of many churches and other locations around the world, including: Italy;[6] San Pawl il-Baħar, Malta; Freising, Germany; Lancaster, England; Kottapuram, India; General Trias, Philippines; San Francisco;[6] Santa Fe, New Mexico; Colorado; Salina, Kansas; Metuchen, New Jersey; and Quibdó, Colombia.
Catherine

In his decree of 13 April 1866, Pope Pius IX declared Catherine of Siena to be a co-patroness of Rome. On 18 June 1939 Pope Pius XII named her a joint patron saint of Italy along with Francis of Assisi.[7]

On 1 October 1999, Pope John Paul II made her one of Europe's patron saints, along with Teresa Benedicta of the Cross and Bridget of Sweden.[8][9] She is also the patroness of the historically Catholic American woman's fraternity, Theta Phi Alpha.[10]

Feast day

Francis' last resting place at Assisi

Francis' feast day is observed on 4 October. A secondary feast in honor of the stigmata received by Francis, celebrated on 17 September, was inserted in the General Roman Calendar in 1585 (later than the Tridentine calendar) and suppressed in 1604, but was restored in 1615. In the New Roman Missal of 1969, it was removed again from the General Calendar, as something of a duplication of the main feast on 4 October, and left to the calendars of certain localities and of the Franciscan Order.[11] Wherever the Tridentine Missal is used, however, the feast of the Stigmata remains in the General Calendar.[12]

Francis is honored with a Lesser Festival in the Church of England,[13] the Anglican Church of Canada, the Episcopal Church USA, the Old Catholic Churches, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and other churches and religious communities on 4 October.[14][15]

His patronal feast is also celebrated in Somerville, Massachusetts (United States); in Yucuaquín[16][17] (El Salvador); in Bucalemu[18] (Chile); in Huamachuco[19][20][21] (Peru); in Panajachel,[22] and San Francisco, Petén[23] (Guatemala); in Tlalcilalcalpan[24] and Valle de Bravo, Mexico;[25] in Tonalá, Chiapas;[26] in Acachuén[27] and Tzintzuntzan, Michoacán[28] (Mexico).

World Animal Day

World Animal Day is an international day of action for animal rights and welfare celebrated annually on October 4, the feast day of Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.

The World Animal Day movement is supported and endorsed by a number of celebrities, such as Anneka Svenska, Brian Blessed and Melanie C.[29]
On the same date

On 4 October 1970, Pope Paul VI named Catherine a Doctor of the Church;[30] this title was almost simultaneously given to Teresa of Ávila (27 September 1970),[31] making them the first women to receive this honour.[32]

Notes and references

Notes

  1. ^ Usually shortened as feast of Saints Francis and Catherine (Italian: festa dei santi Francesco e Caterina).

References

  1. ^ a b "Festività e giornate nazionali § Le solennità civili" (in Italian). Governo Italiano – Dipartimento per il Cerimoniale dello Stato. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  2. ^ Pope Pius XII (18 June 1939). "Licet Commissa" (Apostolic Letter AAS 31, pp. 256–257)
  3. ^ "Saint Francis of Assisi". Franciscan Media. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  4. ^ Laudato Si' Movement, "Who we are", retrieved March 2, 2023
  5. ^ a b "Feast of St. Francis of Assisi", Catholic News Service, October 4, 2018
  6. ^ a b c "Saint Francis of Assisi", Newman Connection
  7. ^ (in Italian) Pope Pius XII, Pontifical Brief, 18 June 1939.
  8. ^ Proclamation of the Co-Patronesses of Europe, Apostolic Letter, 1 October 1999. Archived 20 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Liturgical Feast of St. Bridget, Homily, 13 November 1999.
  10. ^ "Information For Parents | Theta Phi Alpha". thetaphialpha.org. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  11. ^ Calendarium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana), p. 139
  12. ^ "The Stigmata of Saint Francis, Appearing and Disappearing in the Liturgy". Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  13. ^ "The Calendar". The Church of England. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  14. ^ "St. Francis of Assisi". St. Francis of Tejas Church. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  15. ^ Robinson, Michael (1999). St. Francis of Assisi: The Legend and the Life. Great Britain: A&C Black. p. 267. ISBN 0-225-66736-3.
  16. ^ "El baile de los negritos – Fiesta Patronal de San Francisco" (PDF) (in Spanish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2007. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  17. ^ "Las festividades". Mi Yucuaiquín (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  18. ^ Roberto González Short (1 October 2021). "Gran Fiesta patronal de San Francisco de Asís este fin de semana en Bucalemu". Diario El Trabajo (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  19. ^ "Declaran Patrimonio Cultural de la Nación a la Festividad de San Francisco de Asís de Huamachuco". Ministerio de Cultura (in Spanish). Gobierno del Perú. 9 February 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  20. ^ "Huamachuco: 8 datos sobre la Fiesta de San Francisco de Asís". El Comercio (in Spanish). Lima. 22 February 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  21. ^ "Tayta Pancho. Patrimonio cultural". Opentrujillo (in Spanish). 20 November 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  22. ^ "Corpus Christi y el Baile de los Negritos en Panajachel" (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  23. ^ "Fiesta patronal de San Francisco, Petén". Aprende Guatemala.com (in Spanish). 19 February 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  24. ^ Carmona-Sandoval, Juan Carlos (2016). "Sujetos de un carnaval franciscano" (in Spanish). Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  25. ^ Escobar, Mapy. "Cancelan fiesta patronal de San Francisco de Asís en Valle de Bravo" (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  26. ^ "Fiesta Patronal de San Francisco de Asís". Visit Chiapas (in Spanish). Chiapas: Espíritu del Mundo Maya. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  27. ^ Rodríguez, Mariángela (2007). "La fiesta patronal en un pueblo purépecha (Acachuén): identidad y rito de una comunidad transnacional" (in Spanish). IRD Éditions. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  28. ^ "Fiesta Patronal de San Francisco de Asís en Tzintzuntzan". Ruta Don Vasco (in Spanish). Secretaría de Turismo de Michoacán. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  29. ^ "World Animal Day 2021: Theme, History, Significance, Quotes, Celebration". FRESH NEWS INDIA. 30 September 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  30. ^ (in Italian) Proclamation to Doctor of the Church, Homily, 4 October 1970.
  31. ^ (in Italian) Proclamation of Saint Teresa of Ávila to Doctor of the Church, Homily, 27 September 1970.
  32. ^ "St. Catherine of Siena: A Feisty Role for Sister Nancy Murray - April 2006 Issue of St. Anthony Messenger Magazine Online". 22 April 2006. Archived from the original on 22 April 2006. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
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