From the 2nd-4th December, a group of internationally renowned poets gathered in Rome, the Vatican and Assisi to honour the 800th anniversary of St. Francis' "Canticle of the Creatures".
The event, entitled "In the name of the Canticle", was organized and promoted by the Dicastery for Culture and Education of the Holy See, in collaboration with the National Committee (of Italy) for the Celebration of the Eighth Centenary of the Death of St. Francis.
The meeting took place in four different moments. On the 2nd December, at the Dicastery for Culture in the Vatican, the poets reflected on poetry as a tool to promote peace and brotherhood, exploring the relevance of the Canticle. In the afternoon, in the evocative setting of the church of San Francesco a Ripa in Rome, the poets shared, in a public reading, the works inspired by the Franciscan values of harmony with nature, offering an experience of profound poetic reflection.
The following day the poets went on pilgrimage to Assisi, where they visited the symbolic places of the life of St. Francis (Sacred Convent and Porziuncola), inspired by their beauty, landscapes and spiritual heritage that gave rise to the Canticle.
The event concluded on the 4th December at the publishing fair of Rome "Più Libri Più Liberi” (meaning “More books, more freedom”): the authors shared the experience of the previous days with the public, offering a space for open dialogue that revealed how much the Canticle of the Creatures is, 800 years later, a text that still inspires today with its message of universal love and respect for every creature.
In the preface to the book “Nel nome del Cantico. Incontro internazionale di Poesia”, edited by the Dicastery for Culture and Education of the Holy See and the National Committee for the Celebration of the Eighth Centenary of the Death of Saint Francis of Assisi, Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, Prefect of the Dicastery, and Davide Rondoni, President of the Committee, described the Canticle as a paradoxical text, in that it is “a song of praise from the lips of a man who had every reason to lament. Francis has raised praise to the created sign of God, not to Nature as a perfect entity”. And remembering the centenaries that the Franciscan Family is celebrating, they remember that “that young man, seeing the darkness closing in, his sight and strenght fading, decides to leave his followers not just the Rule and Testament, but a poem, a rhythmic, singable piece of poetic prose. Sing it always.”
The following poets participated in the event:
Franco Arminio
Elena Buia
Matilde Campilho
Antonio Colinas
Giuseppe Conte
Claudio Damiani
Mary Karr
Gianfranco Lauretano
Jesús Losada
Hugo Mujica
Amir Or
Alessandro Rivali
Irene Santori
Zingonia Zingone
