By Crispian Balmer

ROME (Reuters) -Italy’s parliament voted on Wednesday to restore a national holiday in honour of St. Francis of Assisi, one of the country’s patron saints, almost half a century after it was abolished.

The annual holiday will fall on St. Francis’s feast day on October 4, with the measure taking effect from next year, which marks the 800th anniversary of his death in 1226.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni welcomed the decision, saying St. Francis was beloved by all Italians.

“The national holiday will be an opportunity to celebrate an extraordinary man and to remind us, each year, who we are and what unites us,” she said in a statement.

The lower house backed the bill last week by 247 votes to two, showing broad cross-party support for the measure, with the Senate’s con

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