Basilica in Norcia reopens nine years after earthquake

Nine years after its collapse due to a devastating series of earthquakes, the Basilica of San Benedetto in Norcia (Nursia) in central Italy has been ceremoniously reopened. Archbishop Renato Boccardo of Spoleto-Norcia presided over the consecration service on Friday, which was also attended by Benedictine Abbot Primate Jeremias Schröder and Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti.

In a written message, Pope Leo XIV expressed his "great joy" at the return of the church to the community. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a video message: "Today we are celebrating a feast - a feast for Norcia, for Umbria, for all of Italy."

The Umbrian town of Norcia was hit by an earthquake on 30 October 2016. The Basilica of San Benedetto, which commemorates the founder of Western monasticism, Benedict of Nursia (around 480-547), who was born here, collapsed down to the façade. According to tradition, the church was built over the former birthplace of Benedict and his twin sister, St Scholastica.

"Nine years in exile"

"We too were in exile for nine years," Archbishop Boccardo said in his sermon, according to the SIR press service; "and tonight, feelings of joy, satisfaction and justifiable pride fill our hearts as we admire the basilica, which has returned to its former splendour."

Boccardo invited us to see the reopening as a sign of rebirth for Umbria and for Europe: "The doors of the basilica open to welcome all those who come here to draw light and strength for their Christian journey. The wide-open doors also invite us to widen our gaze until it embraces our entire continent." (KNA)