Why do the bones of St. Francis draw hundreds of thousands of pilgrims?

Eight hundred years after his death, the remains of St. Francis of Assisi were exhumed and placed on public display in the crypt of the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi for a month-long veneration, highlighting the Catholic tradition of venerating relics as tangible reminders of holiness. For some, the sight of a saint’s bones inspires devotion. For others, it may provoke discomfort or morbid curiosity about why the Catholic Church displays the physical remains of its holy men and women.