This year, the Church marks the 8th centenary of the death of St Francis of Assisi, which happened in the later evening of October 3rd, 1226. As part of the celebrations, his relics have been removed from his tomb, and exposed for the veneration of the faithful; they were placed before the altar of the lower church of the great basilica at Assisi this past Sunday, and will remain there until March 22nd. As noted in passing in this video from Rome Reports, the precise location of the remains was unknown for centuries; they were rediscovered in December of 1818 after nearly two months of exploratory digging.
In the YouTube archive of the old newsreel company British Pathé, I found this video (without soundtrack) of an event of the 7th centenary, a visit to Assisi by Cardinal Merry del Val, then serving Pope Pius XI as the Secretary of the Holy Office. In those days, it was still considered wholly inappropriate to film or photograph the Mass, and so the footage is all of the comings and goings outside the basilica, including part of a solemn procession. (At about 1:20, a cleric in biretta and surplice who is acting as MC for the procession looks at the camera, and seems just about to smile when the shot cuts away.)
