Famed Assisi Basilica Reopened

More than two years and $37 million after an earthquake sent the magnificently frescoed ceiling in this hillside town’s basilica crashing down, the church dedicated to St. Francis, the champion of the poor, was formally reopened Sunday.

But joy was tempered by concern for the thousands of homeless spending their third winter in trailer camps along the frigid backbone of the Apennine mountain range in central Italy.

The town’s ever-present morning mist was veiling the 13th century basilica when notables started arriving to mark completion of painstaking restoration in the church’s upper level.

Before twin quakes struck Sept. 26, 1997, millions trekked here annually to see the priceless medieval frescoes.

Pope John Paul II toured the town and surrounding camps of homeless after the disaster. Sunday, he sent his secretary of state, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, to represent him at a memorial Mass for the four people who died when the ceiling collapsed.

“Today’s satisfaction certainly cannot cancel the discomfort of so many people who suffer the consequences of that quake,” Culture Minister Giovanna Mellandri said.