A stone relic from St. Francis of Assisi’s Porziuncola arrives in the Arabian Peninsula, symbolizing faith, peace, and fraternity across cultures.
Newsroom (12/02/2026 Gaudium Press ) When a small piece of stone from the Porziuncola—the humble chapel in Assisi where St. Francis of Assisi founded the Franciscan Order eight centuries ago—arrived in the Arabian Peninsula, it carried not just a relic of history, but a symbol of living faith and unity.
The Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia announced on February 9 that the sacred stone was a gift from the Friars Minor of the Seraphic Province of Umbria and Sardinia. The relic was entrusted to Bishop Paolo Martinelli, apostolic vicar of Southern Arabia, during his recent visit to Assisi for a conference.
A relic from Assisi’s sacred heart
Nestled inside the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels in central Italy, the Porziuncola is the spiritual heart of the Franciscan movement. The stone destined for Arabia was preserved during restoration work following the 1997 earthquake that struck Assisi. To ensure its reverent display, it has been placed in a custom-crafted reliquary designed for public veneration.
“Receiving a stone from the Porziuncola means welcoming into our local Church a living memory of St. Francis’ encounter with God,” Bishop Martinelli said. He added that its presence “strengthens our vocation to be a Church of dialogue and encounter.”
A Jubilee of remembrance
The relic’s arrival coincides with the global observance of a special Jubilee Year, proclaimed by Pope Leo XIV to commemorate the 800th anniversary of St. Francis’ death. Announced in a decree on January 10, the Jubilee will continue until January 10, 2027, and invites Christians to embody the saint’s spirit as models “of holiness of life.”
Faith among the nations
The Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia spans the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Yemen—home to more than one million Catholics, mostly foreign workers and migrants from countries including the Philippines, India, and parts of Africa and Europe.
“In a land where Christians come from many nations and cultures,” Bishop Martinelli reflected, “this relic reminds us that the Gospel of peace, humility, and fraternity is always concrete and universal.”
The vicariate emphasized that the relic also evokes the historic meeting between St. Francis and Sultan Malik al-Kamil in Damietta, Egypt, in 1219—an encounter that symbolized courage, humility, and interfaith dialogue. “If Francis once crossed borders guided only by faith, humility, and the desire for peace,” the vicariate noted, “now the Porziuncola itself symbolically reaches the Gulf as a sign that the seed of fraternity planted centuries ago continues to grow.”
A journey of faith across the Gulf
Bishop Martinelli plans to take the relic to parishes across the vicariate during his pastoral visits throughout 2026, beginning at Holy Spirit Parish in Ghala, Muscat, Oman, from February 12–15. The reliquary will then travel to parishes in the United Arab Emirates as part of the Franciscan centenary celebrations.
For the faithful in this region—many far from their homelands—the stone offers a tangible link to the origins of their faith, a reminder that even from a small church in Assisi, the message of peace and fraternity continues to reach new shores.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from OSV News
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