Assisi is the New Assignment for Fr. Antonio Gentili, Rector of the Shrine of the Holy Face

Photo by Alexandra Prandell

Father Antonio Gentili, Rector of the Shrine of the Holy Face, chose the Feast of the Transfiguration as an opportunity to announce his upcoming transfer to Assisi. At the start of the 11:00 a.m. service, while introducing Archbishop Fabio Fabene—Secretary of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints—he took a moment to greet the large congregation gathered in the Basilica. This message was repeated during the 7:00 p.m. Mass, presided over by Father Paolo M. Braghini, Vicar of the Central Italy Province of the Capuchin Friars Minor. The Mass was followed by a procession to the foot of the hill, attended by thousands of devotees and pilgrims. The text of his message follows below.  



Farewell message of Father Antonio Gentili OFM, Cap. Rector of the Shrine of the Holy Face for the years 2020-2026

The anniversary of the Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord, the first and oldest celebration concerning the Holy Face in Manoppello, seemed to me a significant occasion to share with you - not without emotion - that obedience has called me elsewhere, since my transfer to Assisi, recently ordered by the Minister Provincial, is imminent. As you know, it is a tradition proper to the Capuchins to rotate the friars.

I arrived in Manoppello six years ago, in September 2020.

I cannot help but recall the difficulties of that period, marked by the most acute phase of the Covid pandemic, conditioned by social distancing that caused the collapse of pilgrimages and the very attendance of Sunday Mass by the local population.

Then in the following months a light was glimpsed, sometimes in alternating phases, in the health emergency (which did not fail to affect the Convent as well), with the gradual resumption of social relations and religious life itself.

I thank the local community, the mayor and the municipal administrators, the volunteers and bearers of the Holy Face, whose number has increased over the years, the choir and the many collaborators who have put their time and energy at the disposal of the Shrine. I thank the scholars and journalists in Italy and abroad who have contributed with their activities to spreading knowledge of the Holy Face. Among them it is only right to remember Paul Badde, who passed away on November 10 last year and remains forever here, in his beloved Manoppello, buried a few meters from the Basilica. Devoted and passionate about the Holy Face, he was a great popularizer of the Holy Face in the world, through books published in a number of countries, and through articles and television reporting. I thank His Excellency Monsignor Bruno Forte, Archbishop of the Diocese of Chieti-Vasto, for his constant closeness to the Shrine, and the men and women religious who collaborate in the activities of the Shrine.

Of course, I cannot forget the religious fraternity with whom I shared the leadership of the Shrine.

There were many moments and events worthy of note. Among these, I would like to emphasize the constant effort made - despite the moments of discouragement - to unblock the work of securing the façade of our Basilica. Finally concluded on July 25 last year, this effort has brought to a close the long period during which pilgrims arriving at the Shrine found the scaffolding of a construction site to welcome them and, right in the middle of the Jubilee, has made it possible to provide them a more dignified welcome.

It is no coincidence that 2025 was a particularly intense year full of immense joy. The ordinary Jubilee dedicated to Hope has led us, in fact, to welcome an uninterrupted and ever-growing flow of hundreds of pilgrims coming every day from all continents and eager to venerate the image of the true Face of the Risen Jesus. It was particularly touching to see thousands of young people reach Manoppello, after passing through Rome for the Jubilee dedicated to them, bringing fervor and enthusiasm.

This extraordinary experience was joined by the grace of this year's Franciscan Jubilee, celebrated, at the end of the series of Franciscan anniversaries, on the occasion of the eighth centenary of the death of the Poverello of Assisi and which has attracted significant flows of pilgrims to the Basilica even in these months.

Moments of deep emotion for the faithful were also linked to the presence in Manoppello, in the Basilica of the Holy Face, of precious relics such as those of St. Francis himself and the body of St. Camillus de Lellis: being able to pause in prayer and venerate them in the presence of the Holy Face represented an unforgettable and unique spiritual experience for all of us.

The increasingly widespread knowledge of the Holy Face in the world (also recounted in the latest issue of the magazine of the Holy Face) is evidenced by the enthronement of a reproduction of the Sacred Image venerated in Manoppello, which took place last March in Mosul, a martyred city of Iraq, by the Syriac Catholic bishop, at the same time as the inauguration of a new church, built after the destruction and persecution of Christians by ISIS in 2017. A courageous and highly symbolic gesture that must make us reflect on the mystery of the Holy Face.

I myself can remember firsthand the extraordinary experience of the enthronement of a copy of the Holy Face on July 16, 2025, at the National Center for Padre Pio, in Barto, Pennsylvania - a reference for devotion in the United States to the Saint of Pietrelcina - celebrated together with His Excellency Bishop Alfred Andrew Schlert of the Diocese of Allentown, who kindly came to Manoppello in the  days just prior to the enthronement to meet the Holy Face in person and then accompany me on the journey to America. An event which was commemorated in the United States just a few days ago, on its one-year anniversary.  

The complex historical story of the Holy Face found a unique moment in the twinning that took place in 2024 with the parish of Chiusa Sclafani in Sicily, where a seventeenth-century copy of the Veronica is venerated.

A mention should be made, not least, of the pilgrimage of the replica of the Holy Face to a number of churches of Lazio, Puglia, Campania, and Abruzzo, where we have always been warmly welcomed by religious and people.

But this is certainly not the place for a complete and exhaustive balance sheet of the six years during which, believe me, I have always tried to do my best to carry out the mission that had been entrusted to me.

Living for a long time next to the Holy Face was a priceless gift, which has profoundly safeguarded me and led to an increase in my humanity, my spirituality, and my ministry in the service of God, the Church and all our brothers and sisters.

The grace and love of the Holy Face will always accompany me, especially in my next post in Assisi, the land of Saint Francis.

I hope you will remember me in prayer, and I hope that my successor will be welcomed with friendship and helped to carry forward the leadership of the Shrine towards new horizons.

Fra Antonio Gentili OFM, Cap Rector of the Shrine of the Holy Face