Saint Francis of Assisi in the context of "Abbey of Saint Scholastica, Subiaco"

Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City from 13 March 2013 until his death in 2025. He was the first Jesuit pope, the first Latin American, and the first born or raised outside Europe since the 8th-century Syrian pope Gregory III.

Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to a family of Italian origin, Bergoglio was inspired to join the Jesuits in 1958 after recovering from a severe illness. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1969, and from 1973 to 1979 he was the Jesuit provincial superior in Argentina. He became the archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and was created a cardinal in 2001 by Pope John Paul II. Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, the 2013 papal conclave elected Bergoglio as pope on 13 March. He chose Francis as his papal name in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi.

Čapljina (Cyrillic: Чапљина, pronounced [t͡ʃâpʎina]) is a city located in Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located on the border with Croatia a mere 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the Adriatic Sea.

The river Neretva flows through the city and flows into the Adriatic just over the border. The town's landmark is a statue of King Tomislav. The Church of Saint Francis of Assisi is also a prominent facet of the city. The city coat of arms contains the Croatian checkerboard, the nearby tower in Počitelj, and Saint Francis of Assisi.

Santa Fe (/ˌsæntə ˈfeɪ, ˈsæntə ˌfeɪ/ SAN-tə FAY, -⁠ fay; Spanish: [santa ˈfe]; Spanish for 'Holy Faith') is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-most populous city in the state with a population of 87,505 as of the 2020 census, while the Santa Fe metropolitan area has an estimated 158,000 people. The greater Albuquerque–Santa Fe–Los Alamos combined statistical area includes eight counties in north-central New Mexico with 1.16 million residents. The county seat of Santa Fe County, Santa Fe is situated at the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains at the highest altitude of any U.S. state capital, with an elevation of 6,998 feet (2,133 m).

Founded in 1610 as the capital of Nuevo México, a province of New Spain, Santa Fe is the oldest state capital in the United States and the earliest European settlement west of the Mississippi River. Its name, Spanish for "Holy Faith", is the shortened form of its original name, La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asís (Royal Town of the Holy Faith of Saint Francis of Assisi). The city prospered as a leading commercial and transportation hub, driven by lucrative trade and migration routes such as El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro and the Santa Fe Trail. Nuevo México became a territory of Mexico after Mexican independence from Spain in 1821. It was ceded to the United States in 1848 following the Mexican–American War, and in 1851 Santa Fe was named the capital of the U.S. Territory of New Mexico; it became New Mexico's state capital in 1912. Santa Fe remained the political and cultural center of New Mexico throughout the Spanish, Mexican, and American periods, which each impacted the city's development and character.

Christmas in Italy (Italian: Natale, pronounced [naˈtaːle]) begins on 8 December, with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, the day on which traditionally the Christmas tree is mounted and ends on 6 January, of the following year with the Epiphany (Italian: Epifania [epifaˈniːa]), and in some areas female puppets are burned on a pyre (called falò), to symbolize, along with the end of the Christmas period, the death of the old year and the beginning of a new one. 26 December (Saint Stephen's Day, in Italian Giorno di Santo Stefano), is also a public holiday in Italy. The Italian term Natale derives from the Latin natalis, which literally means 'birth', and the greetings in Italian are buon Natale (Merry Christmas) and felice Natale (lit. 'happy Christmas').

The tradition of the nativity scene comes from Italy. One of the earliest representation in art of the nativity was found in the early Christian Roman catacomb of Saint Valentine. The first seasonal nativity scene, which seems to have been a dramatic rather than sculptural rendition, is attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi (died 1226). Francis' 1223 nativity scene in Greccio is commemorated on the calendars of the Catholic, Lutheran and Anglican liturgical calendars, and its creation is described by Saint Bonaventure in his Life of Saint Francis of Assisi c. 1260. Nativity scenes were popularised by Saint Francis of Assisi from 1223, quickly spreading across Europe. It seems that the first Christmas tree in Italy was erected at the Quirinal Palace at the behest of Queen Margherita, towards the end of the 19th century. Mount Ingino Christmas Tree in Gubbio is the tallest Christmas tree in the world. In Italy, the oldest Christmas market is considered to be that of Bologna, held for the first time in the 18th century and linked to the feast of Saint Lucy. Typical bearers of gifts from the Christmas period in Italy are Saint Lucy (December 13), Christ Child, Babbo Natale (the name given to Santa Claus), and, on Epiphany, the Befana.

Al-Malik al-Kamil Nasir ad-Din Muhammad (Arabic: الملك الكامل ناصر الدين محمد; c. 1177 – 6 March 1238), titled Abu al-Maʽali (Arabic: أبي المعالي), was an Egyptian ruler and the fourth Ayyubid sultan of Egypt. During his tenure as sultan, the Ayyubids defeated the Fifth Crusade. He was known to the Frankish crusaders as Meledin, a name by which he is referred to in some older western sources. As a result of the Sixth Crusade, he ceded West Jerusalem to the Christians and is known to have met with Saint Francis.