Italy has done it again: turned a beautiful spiritual idea into a delightful bureaucratic mystery. Starting in 2026, October 4 — the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of Italy — will officially become a national holiday. Bells will ring, offices will close, and schoolchildren will learn about peace, humility, and harmony with nature.
So far, so heavenly. Until someone noticed that October 4 already belonged to someone else. That someone is St. Catherine of Siena, co-patron saint of Italy, whose “civil solemnity” falls on the very same date. Which means that, on paper at least, the country will now celebrate two patron saints at once: one as a full national holiday, the other as a solemn day of remembrance. Even the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, raised an eyebrow: “A single day cannot be both a national holiday and a civil solemnity”, he gently reminded Parliament.
A calendar fit for heaven — or for a committee
Lawmakers are now searching for a miracle of scheduling. One suggestion is to move St. Catherine to April 29, the day she died in 1380 — a neat and symbolic solution that would let everyone keep their halos in order. Another option would be to celebrate both saints together on October 4, though some fear that could open the gates to an endless queue of worthy contenders (St. Joseph, anyone?).
The cost of holiness
Meanwhile, the economists have arrived with calculators and caution. According to Confindustria, Italy’s powerful business federation, an extra national holiday could cost about €3.6 billion a year in lost productivity and wages. Most of that — nearly €3 billion — would fall on private companies. The state, for its part, has budgeted just €10 million to cover staff on duty. Miracles, apparently, are not cheap.
Luckily, the first “new” St. Francis Day in 2026 lands on a Sunday, sparing everyone immediate headaches. The real test — and the first extra day off — will come in 2027.
Peace, fraternity… and fine print
Still, it’s hard not to smile at the paradox. The saint who renounced wealth and worldly complications has inspired a law so intricate it might require divine intervention to interpret. Yet perhaps that’s perfectly Italian: a little confusion, a little charm, and a lot of good intentions.
After all, whether it’s St. Francis, St. Catherine, or a hard-working accountant trying to balance the books: everyone deserves a day of peace.
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Marco Bastiani is the founder of Florence Daily News, launched in 2011. He has worked as a journalist since 1998, and was a political editor at Il Giornale della Toscana. He later held senior roles in communications for public and private institutions. A board member of the Tuscan Foundation of the Order of Journalists, he lives in Florence, loves the sea and Greece, and has two children.