On 26 September, under the patronage of the National Committee for the Celebration of the Eighth Centenary of the Death of Saint Francis of Assisi, a seminar was held in Abu Dhabi on the Canticle of the Creatures, marking 800 years since its composition and in anticipation of the commemorations of the saint’s passing on 4 October 1226.
The event featured two internationally renowned scholars: Father Stefano Luca, Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia, delivered a lecture entitled “The Spiritual Meaning of the Canticle of Brother Sun”, offering a linguistic and literary, as well as spiritual and ecumenical, interpretation of the Canticle’s verses. Professor Mahnaz Yousefzadeh, of New York University Abu Dhabi, in her presentation “Art and Diplomatic Imagination: Saint Francis and the Florentine Encounter with the Islamic World”, explored the historical significance of the saint’s encounter with Sultan al-Malik al-Kamil of Egypt and its enduring influence on relations between the Christian and Islamic worlds. Poet and essayist Davide Rondoni, President of the National Committee for the Celebration of the Eighth Centenary of the Death of Saint Francis of Assisi, contributed a written reflection highlighting the enduring relevance of Saint Francis’s life in today’s world—an inspiring and illuminating example that bridges past and present.
The seminar opened with a live bilingual reading, in Italian and English, of the Canticle of the Creatures by Sophie Verschurr, accompanied on the violin by Maestro Antonio Cipriani. Introductory remarks were delivered by H.E. Lorenzo Fanara, Ambassador of Italy to the United Arab Emirates, and Susanna Iacona-Salafia, Director of the Italian Cultural Institute of Abu Dhabi.
