San Francisco Catholics and other Christians have a special chance to see a relic that has never left Italy before. The Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption is exhibiting an 800‑year‑old bandage believed to hold the blood of St. Francis of Assisi, the beloved medieval saint who founded the Franciscan Order and is the patron saint of animals.
Why the relic matters
The display marks the 800th anniversary of St. Francis’s death (he lived roughly 1181‑1226) and includes a painted panel of the saint dating to around 1290. But the centerpiece is the so‑called Bandage Relic of the Stigmata, a centuries‑old cloth that still shows a vivid red stain, which experts say is the saint’s blood.
Expert perspective
Candida Moss, Edward Cadbury Professor of Theology at the University of Birmingham, explained that the relic’s arrival in San Francisco is significant because the city itself was named after St. Francis. She noted that the saint is revered not only by Catholics but also by Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran believers.
“People love St. Francis, but he isn’t just venerated by Catholics,” Moss told Fox News Digital. “I think this will become temporarily a pilgrimage site.”
Moss highlighted Francis’s transformation from a wealthy young man who wanted to be a knight into a humble servant of the poor, preaching to birds and caring for the needy. She said those stories make him one of the most popular medieval saints.
Questions of authenticity
While some of Francis’s relics have been carbon‑dated to the appropriate period, the blood‑stained bandage has not yet undergone scientific testing. Moss said the reason the blood remains so vivid after eight centuries is unclear, and she cautioned that the lack of scrutiny means the relic cannot be definitively called miraculous.
She also warned that other objects once thought to be Francis’s belongings have turned out to be later forgeries. For example, a tunic in Florence was carbon‑dated to about 150 years after his death and is likely a “pious forgery.”
What visitors can expect
The exhibition runs until Nov. 28, giving locals and travelers a rare opportunity to view high‑status relics that cannot be bought or shipped. “You can’t acquire anything like this,” Moss said. “It’s against church protocol to sell these items, and this is the first time they have left Italy.”
For those interested in deepening their faith or simply experiencing a piece of church history, the cathedral’s display offers a tangible connection to a saint whose life embodied humility, service, and love for creation.
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
