Just weeks after debt-laden France proposed axing two public holidays, Italy is proposing to add a new one in honour of St. Francis of Assisi.
The plan has the backing of all the parties in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s governing coalition.
The main feast of St Francis, a 13th-century mystic and stigmatist who renounced his wealth and devoted his life to the poor, falls on October 4. Traditional Catholics also celebrate a feast on September 17 that commemorates him receiving the stigmata.
Italy previously celebrated the October 4 feast as a public holiday, but it was scrapped in 1977 as part of austerity measures.
Proponents want to reinstate Saint Francis Day from next year, the 800th anniversary of the saint’s death, despite concerns that it will weigh on state coffers.
“Establishing a public holiday in the name of Francis is a call for peace, cohesion, the value of nature, and his lesson in faith and spirituality,” Maurizio Lupi, leader of the Noi Moderati party which proposed the law, said in a statement to AFP.
Noi Moderati is allied with the three main parties in Meloni’s coalition, who have a majority in parliament.
Italy currently has 12 public holidays, compared to 15 in Cyprus, 14 in countries including Croatia and Spain, and 11 in France, Greece, and Sweden.
France’s recently ousted prime minister, François Bayrou, sparked outrage with his proposal to cut two public holidays, which he said would add “several billions of euros” to the state’s coffers.
His successor has since been forced to drop the plan.
Meanwhile, in Italy, some lawmakers are pushing for yet another new public holiday on March 19 to mark St. Joseph’s Day—Father’s Day—but with no success so far.
