Homage to St Francis

Meloni: 'Trump's peace plan on Gaza pierces the darkness of war'

The premier's speech in Assisi: "Proud of Italy's contribution to dialogue".

by Rome Editorial Staff

4 October 2025

La presidente del consiglio, Giorgia Meloni, alla festa di San Francesco, Patrono d'Italia

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

Meloni: proud of Italy's contribution to dialogue
Assisi Custodian, peace is not built by making weapons
Meloni: joy on national holiday
Bipartisan support
The input of We the Moderate

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

"This is what we hope is happening in Palestine. The plan, thanks to Trump's mediation, could also be accepted by Hamas, This could mean a return to peace. A light of peace that pierces the darkness, We have a duty to do what we can'. From Assisi, where she arrived for the celebrations of the eighth centenary of the death of St Francis, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni returned to the peace proposal signed by US President Donald Trump that could put an end to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

The premier's statement came during her speech for the celebrations of the eighth centenary of the death of Saint Francis in Assisi, patron saint of Italy. In front of a large number of pilgrims crowded in the vicinity of the Upper Basilica, where the mass in memory of the saint was held, Meloni then explained that 'peace, dialogue and diplomacy do not seem to win and convince. The use of force prevails on too many occasions, replacing the force of law. Yet this scenario, gloomy and irreversible, must not push us to surrender, to surrender to the idea that there is no other option'.

Meloni: proud of Italy's contribution to dialogue

As for Italy's role in this game, Meloni wished to reiterate the contribution made by our country. "I am proud of Italy's contribution to the dialogue, in the front line of humanitarian aid and as a credible interlocutor, without falling into the trap of frontal opposition that many invoke," said the Prime Minister in response to the many polemics that have come from the opposition in recent days.

The Prime Minister: peace does not come by invoking it but by building it

The prime minister's speech started from the memory of St. Francis who 'also taught respect in listening, in understanding oneself, in understanding the reasons of others'. St. Francis, the Prime Minister stressed, 'is one of the most important identity figures in our history, perhaps the main one. He was a man of action, he did not like compromises, subterfuges, he was a demanding man. He was an extreme man but not an extremist. He was a man of peace and dialogue'. St Francis, the premier reiterated, 'teaches that peace does not materialise when it is invoked but when it is built with commitment, patience and courage with the strength of responsibility and the effectiveness of reason'. A message, Meloni said, that is even stronger in this uncertain phase marked by multiple fronts of conflict.

Meloni's arrival in Assisi in the morning

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had arrived in Assisi in the morning to attend mass in the Upper Basilica on the occasion of the solemn celebration of the eighth centenary of the death of Saint Francis, Patron Saint of Italy. The service, presided over by Monsignor Camillo Cibotti, bishop of Isernia-Venafro and Trivento and president of the Abruzzo-Molise Episcopal Conference, was also attended by the Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli, Cardinal Angel Fernandez Artime, papal legate for the Papal Basilicas of Assisi, the bishop of Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino, Monsignor Domenico Sorrentino, the president of the Umbria Region, Stefania Proietti, and the governor of Abruzzo, Marco Marsilio. From Abruzzo, in fact, and in particular from L'Aquila, comes the votive lamp of the Italian municipalities that burns at the tomb of St Francis and was lit by the mayor of the capital of Abruzzo, Pierluigi Biondi.

Custodian Assisi: peace is not built by making weapons

The celebration had opened with an appeal by Brother Marco Moroni, Custos of the Sacred Convent in Assisi: "Peace is not built when weapons continue to be manufactured and traded. Francis reminds us that it comes from disarming the heart and laying down weapons, choosing paths of dialogue and reconciliation," Moroni had explained, and then pointed out that fraternity "becomes real only in sharing with the poor, with those who are fragile and with those who seek a welcome," he had added, "and the custody of creation is the responsibility of all, individuals and governments, in order to hand over to the new generations a habitable world, a common home respected as a gift from God,' Moroni had added. He then recalled with satisfaction the approval by Parliament of the law establishing 4 October as a national holiday, which had arrived in recent days.

Meloni: joy for the national holiday

The Prime Minister had also commented positively on the final green light to the proposal reintroducing the national feast day of the Patron Saint of Italy from 2026. "I welcome with joy and satisfaction the news of the final approval in the Senate of the parliamentary bill that reintroduces after 50 years as a national holiday 4 October, the day on which we celebrate Saint Francis, Patron Saint of Italy," the Prime Minister had said following the green light from Parliament: "The government has strongly supported the process of the proposal, which has taken up and made its own the appeal launched a year ago by Davide Rondoni, poet and president of the National Committee for the celebrations for the eighth centenary of the death of the Poverello of Assisi".

Bipartisan support

The Prime Minister had then emphasised the 'bipartisan and almost unanimous support for the proposal' as an 'important signal of the unity found in politics around one of the most representative and distinctive figures of national identity. A Saint loved by all the Italian people and in whom all the Italian people recognise themselves. The National Day will be an opportunity to celebrate an extraordinary man and remind us, every year, who we are and what unites us deep down'.

The input of We the Moderates

Today, therefore, Meloni will arrive in the Umbrian town to pay homage to Saint Francis, whose national holiday was abolished in 1977 during the years of lead. The proposal, which has now become law, had been presented by Noi Moderati, which, as party leader Maurizio Lupi explained, "has made its own the request of the poet Davide Rondoni, president of the national committee for the celebrations of the eighth centenary of the death of Saint Francis," he had explained to the Chamber of Deputies, "to proclaim a national holiday in his name as a call for peace, cohesion, and a lesson in faith and spirituality.