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St Francis died in 1226 and was made a saint two years later<\/div>\nThe tomb of St Francis of Assisi has reopened to the public after the first restoration in its nearly 800-year history.<\/p>\n
St Francis was buried in the 13th-Century and became the patron saint of animals and of Italy.<\/p>\n
St Francis of Assisi devoted his life to the poor.<\/p>\n
The son of a wealthy cloth merchant from the Umbrian town of Assisi, he rejected his own comfortable upbringing to help those in need.<\/p>\n
In 1224 it is said he received the stigmata, making him the first person to bear the five wounds of Christ.<\/p>\n
He died in 1226 and was made a saint two years later.<\/p>\n
The body of St Francis was placed in a bronze urn and buried in a stone crypt in his hometown.<\/p>\n
Now for the first time, they have both undergone a restoration.<\/p>\n
For two months expert metal polishers and stone restorers have worked day and night to renovate the tomb.<\/p>\n
Franciscans from all over the world are due at a special mass to mark the event.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Duncan Kennedy BBC News, Rome<\/p>\n
St Francis died in 1226 and was made a saint two years later <\/p>\n
The tomb of St Francis of Assisi has reopened to the public after the first restoration in its nearly 800-year history.<\/p>\n