PHOTO — Relic Believed to Contain St. Francis of Assisi’s Blood on Display in San Francisco: ‘Important Part of Church History’

An 800-year-old relic linked to St. Francis of Assisi is on display in the famous American city that bears his name.

The relic, which is believed to contain his blood, is being housed at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in San Francisco, California, until November 28, Fox News reported Monday.

The exhibit is special because this year commemorates the 800th anniversary of his death and it is the first time the artifact has been taken outside of Italy.

“The Bandage Relic of the Stigmata of Saint Francis of Assisi, associated with the sacred mountain of La Verna, recalls one of the most profound mystical encounters in the history of the Church,” the cathedral’s website reads:

In 1224, while immersed in prayer and contemplation at La Verna, Saint Francis received the holy stigmata—the wounds of Christ Crucified imprinted upon his own body—becoming a living image of the Passion of Our Lord. This humble bandage evokes the mystery of his suffering, his total conformity to Christ, and the extraordinary grace that united the Poverello of Assisi so intimately to the Crucified Savior. Through this sacred relic, the faithful are invited to contemplate the immeasurable love of Christ and the radical holiness of the saint who bore His wounds.

Candida Moss, the Edward Cadbury professor of theology at the University of Birmingham, told Fox St. Francis is beloved and his enduring popularity may be in part due to his life’s journey.

“He starts off just like everyone else. He wanted to be a knight. And then he changes his life. He ministers to the poor. He has all of these stories about him preaching to birds,” she explained. “These are all really endearing stories about a man devoted to God.”

He also embraced a life of poverty, and the way he lived drew thousands of followers, many of whom later became known as Franciscan friars, according to the Catholic Center at the University of Georgia.

“This is a really important part of church history, and it’s worth seeing for yourself,” Moss said of the relic.

The city of San Francisco was originally founded as a mission in the 1700s, according to the Mission Dolores.

“The Misión San Francisco de Asís was founded October 9, 1776. The settlement was named for St. Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan Order, but was also commonly known as ‘Mission Dolores’ owing to the presence of a nearby creek named Arroyo de los Dolores, or ‘Creek of Sorrows,’” the site explains.

It is said that St. Francis made the first Nativity Scene in December 1223 just outside of Greccio.