The nativity scene installed in St. Peter's Square is intended to evoke, after eight hundred years, the Christmas atmosphere of the year 1223 in the Rieti Valley, where St. Francis stopped to rest, explained the Pope to the delegations.
"In his mind was still vivid the journey he had made to the Holy Land, and the grottoes of Greccio reminded him of the landscape of Bethlehem. Therefore, he asked that the Christmas scene be performed in that small village. Several pieces and men and women from the huts in the area also arrived, creating a living nativity scene. Thus was born the tradition of the belen as we understand it," the Pontiff explained.
"This year, therefore, from St. Peter's Square we will think of Greccio, which in turn refers us to. Belen"The Holy Father continued. "And contemplating Jesus, God made man, small, poor, defenseless, we cannot but think of the drama that the inhabitants of the Holy Land are living, showing our closeness and our spiritual support to these our brothers and sisters, especially the children and their parents. They are the ones who pay the real bill for the war".
Silence and prayer. "Mary is our model".
In front of each cribThe Pope emphasized that, even in our own homes, we relive what happened in Bethlehem more than two thousand years ago. "This should awaken in us a longing for silence and prayer in our often hectic daily lives. Silence, so that we can listen to what Jesus tells us from that unique "chair" that is the manger.
"Prayer, to express the grateful wonder, the tenderness, perhaps the tears that the Bethlehem arouses in us. And in all this, Mary is our model: she says nothing, but contemplates and adores." continued Francisco. "In the square, next to the manger, is the tree, whose lights will be lit tonight at the end of the ceremony, the lights will be turned on. It is adorned with edelweiss grown in the plains, to protect those that grow in the high mountains. It is also a thought-provoking choice, highlighting the importance of caring for our common home: small gestures are essential in ecological conversion, gestures of respect and gratitude for God's gifts".
100 Nativity scenes in the Vatican
Yesterday afternoon saw the inauguration of the international exhibition "100 Nativity Scenes in the Vatican", one of the events in preparation for the Jubilee 2025, as part of the "Jubilee is Culture" initiative. Present at the inauguration were Monsignor Rino Fisichella, Pro Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, the Italian Ambassador to the Holy See, Francesco di Nitto, Father Massimo Fusarelli, Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor, and the Mayor of Greccio, Emiliano Fabi.
The exhibition, which features more than 120 nativity scenes from 22 different countries, commemorates the 800th anniversary of the nativity scene that St. Francis created at Christmas 1223, which began the tradition of nativity scenes, as the Pope explained.
