47 It seems that God in His goodness and mercy has ordained that Our pontificate shall not pass without the happiest fruits for the Catholic Church, judging from the great and holy events in which We have so often been called upon to participate. We, therefore, view with great pleasure the preparations which are being made to celebrate this solemn Centenary of St. Francis who "in his life propped up the house and in his days fortified the temple." ( Ecclesiasticus i, 1) We take all the more pleasure in this festival since from Our earliest years We have with great devotion venerated St. Francis as Our patron. We have numbered Ourselves, too, among his children, having received the badge of the Third Order. In this year, therefore, which is the Seventh Centenary of the death of the Seraphic Father, the Catholic world, and in particular Our nation, Italy, should receive, through the intercession of St. Francis, so great an abundance of blessings that it will remain forever a year memorable in the history of the Church.
Source: Rite Expiatis (Vatican.va)