Saint Francis and Mussolini, Fascist Appropriations of a Beloved Italian Saint

St. Francis of Assisi is celebrated as the patron saint of animals and is also recognized as a symbol of pacifism and brotherhood. How then could the figure of St. Francis end up serving the Fascist political project, most tellingly by being declared the Patron Saint of (Fascist) Italy in 1939? Why, and how, would this scrawny Saint become the emblem of a nation dedicated to war? As nowadays the Meloni’s government has also been referring to the Saint, this talk by Professor Amanda Minervini of Colorado College will illustrate some of the political appropriations through archival research and representation analyses.