A relic of St Egidio's body was entrusted to the Roman church named after him on 14 June 2023. As Marco Impagliazzo, president of the Community, said: "It is a further reason for sanctity for this place that has been reopened as a place of prayer in this very ancient district of Trastevere for many years" and strengthens the bond between the saint and the Community's first place of prayer.
The relic had so far been preserved in the abbey church of Saint Gilles au Gard (in the Diocese of NÎmes, France) where the saint probably died. The place, venerated for centuries, was one of the main stops on Christian pilgrimages in the medieval period, along with Rome, Jerusalem and Santiago de Compostela.
The mayor of the town, accompanied by the parish priest and a delegation from the town, handed over the relic of Saint Egidio to the president of the Community during a liturgy of the Word in the church of Sant'Egidio, in the presence of the mayors of Latronico and Orte, two Italian towns of which Saint Egidio is patron.
