medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Adrian House's bio of Francis, "Francis of Assisi, A Revolutionary Life" (2000) has a color picture of his remains from the 1978 exhumation. House also recounts scholarly/medical opinion about the possible causes of his death (pp. 261-63: inconclusive). He mentions that the skeleton's dimensions suggest that Francis was 5'3". He also mentions that John Moorman (who likewise wrote a bio) was present at the 1978 exhumation and commented on how white Francis' teeth were (94).
Best,
John
----- Original Message -----
From: "George Piero FERZOCO" <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2012 11:37:49 AM
Subject: Re: [M-R] St Francis exhumed
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Dear Anna,
In 1818, Pope Pius VII ordered a *recognitio* of Francis's remains. As I recall, only bones were found. These were placed in a bronze casket in a stone sarcophagus under the high altar of the lower basilica of St Francis. In early 1978, Pope Paul VI ordered an re-examination of these remains of Francis. If I remember correctly, the remains were put into a glass or plexiglass box, but whether they were put on display as such, or simply placed back in the casket and sarcophagus immediately, I do not recall. I might be in Assisi next month, and will inform myself and, in turn, you, should no one else shed further light on this.
I think the recognition was just that -- a declaration that these were indeed the remains of Francis -- and not in any way a forsenic study.
Best wishes, George
On Wed, Oct 17, 2012 at 2:41 PM, Anna Kirkwood Graham < [log in to unmask] > wrote:
Greetings, listmembers,
I have read that St. Francis of Assisi's body was moved during the late 1970s, and while it was "out," his remains were subjected to scientific analysis. I have not been able to determine, however, whether the results of the analysis were ever published. Does anyone on this list know?
Many thanks,
Anna
Anna Kirkwood Graham, J.D., Ph.D.
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--
John Shinners
Professor, Schlesinger Chair in Humanistic Studies
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556
Phone: 574-284-4494 or 574-284-4534
Fax: 284-4855
www.saintmarys.edu/~hust
"Learn everything. Later you will see that nothing is superfluous." -- Hugh of St. Victor (d. 1141)
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