NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

    ROME (CWNews.com) - The restoration of St. Francis Basilica in Assisi following a 1997 earthquake is nearly complete and reopening ceremonies will take place as scheduled on November 28, said Italy's cultural minister on Thursday.

    Giovanna Melandri said restorers had nearly finished putting back 300,000 pieces of frescoes that collapsed to the ground during the September 26, 1997 earthquake that killed four people in the church. Work on the ceiling frescoes by the school of Giotto and Cimabue will continue after the ceremonies. Only the lower level of the famed basilica remained open as a $40 million restoration raced the calendar to reopen in time for the Jubilee Year.

    Italy's president will attend the rededication Mass while Pope John Paul II will address the congregation during a live satellite hookup from Rome.

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