Next to the Portiuncula in Assisi stands the Chapel of the Transit, the ancient infirmary of the primitive monastery, where on the evening of Oct. 3, 1226, St. Francis welcomed singing Sister Death. Every year on October 3, around sunset, the Commemoration of the Saint's Transit is solemnly celebrated all over the world. In Jerusalem, the celebration presided over by Brother Francesco Patton, Custos of the Holy Land, in the presence of the Custody's friars, religious communities present in the Holy Land and local Christians, is held at St. Savior's Convent. In his homily, the Custos of the Holy Land highlighted: The gift of eternal life. What we seek, in the long or short course of our existence, is a full (that is, happy) and eternal life. What St. Francis teaches us with his existential journey is that we prepare ourselves for full and eternal life through a series of paschal passages. From time to time these lead us to let a part of us die in order to actually arrive at a more authentic and fuller form of life. Since Francis has trained himself in this all his life, he can say at the point of death and with a smile on his lips, "Welcome sister death, for me it will be the door of life." During the celebration of Vespers, 42 student friars from Ein Karem and St. Savior Convent from around the world renewed their first vows. One of the most moving moments was the narration of the Transitus of St. Francis with the Canticle of Creatures at the end. Celebrations then resumed the next morning with a solemn Holy Mass in the Church of St. Savior. Adorned with beautiful flowers, the altar welcomed the celebrants and the long procession of Franciscans and other priests and religious who joined, in a spirit of fraternal communion, in the joy of this day. Also present were Representatives of the Jerusalem consulates religious authorities, and representatives of the Eastern Rite Catholic churches. In keeping with the tradition that Dominicans lead the solemn celebration on the feast of St. Francis and vice versa. The Holy Mass was presided over by Fr. Martin Staszak Prior of St. Stephen's, Jerusalem. The homily was delivered by Fr. Anthony Giambrone, deputy director of the Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem, who highlighted, "The church, by its nature, in all its members should grow to that perfect man and to the height of Christ's maturity. We see a reflection of this in the growth of the Franciscan charism. In the fruitfulness of St. Francis, we see how the Spirit himself if given without measure that brings him to the splendor of gospel witness.