Statement by President Meloni on approval of proposed legislation to reintroduce a national holiday on 4 October

It is with joy and satisfaction that I welcome the news that the Senate has definitively approved the parliamentary bill to reintroduce, after 50 years, a national holiday on 4 October - the day when Saint Francis, patron saint of Italy, is celebrated. The Government firmly backed the proposal, taking up and acting on the appeal launched a year ago by Davide Rondoni, the poet and Chair of the national committee for the celebrations to mark the 800th anniversary of the death of the Poor Man of Assisi. The cross-party and almost unanimous support for this proposal is an important sign of the political unity surrounding one of the most representative and distinctive figures of our national identity. A saint loved by the entire Italian population and with whom the entire Italian population can identify. This national holiday will be an opportunity to celebrate an extraordinary man and to remember, each year, who we are and what unites us deep down.

[Courtesy translation]