SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — With 8-year-old Isabella Rivera cradling the Christ child, Fr. Thomas Osei Gyau administered a blessing Sunday evening at a Christmas program in the parish hall at St. Ambrose Catholic Church.
Instituted by Pope John Paul II, the Bambinelli Blessing is held on the third Sunday of Advent in the St. Peter’s Basilica, where children bring baby Jesus figures from their home Nativity scenes to be blessed by the Pope.
“The Bambinelli Blessing is very powerful,” said Osei Gyau, a native of Ghana who serves as parochial vicar at St. Ambrose.
Jessenia Rivera, Isabella’s 9-year-old sister, looked on as the Osei Gyau sprinkled Holy Water during the ritual.
“I liked it,” said Jessenia, who’s in fourth grade in Schuylkill Haven Elementary School. “It made me feel better.”
The Bambinelli Blessing was part of “Welcome to Bethlehem,” a parish Christmas program.
Julia Geirsson and Jacob Smalley as Mary and Joseph at “Welcome to Bethlehem” live Nativity in St. Ambrose Catholic parish center on Dec. 14, 2025. RON DEVLIN/STAFF PHOTO
A variation of a live Nativity scene, participants dressed as Mary and Joseph, St. Nicholas and the three Wise Men. Tents depicting the village of Bethlehem were erected in the spacious parish center, and live animals inhabited David’s Stable.
Mary Ellen Johns, director of religious education, said the project had its roots in a drive-thru village designed by Msgr. Edward S. Zemanik, pastor, five years ago during COVID.
Wisely, given the 17-degree temperature Sunday night, the village was moved inside.
“We wanted to create the sensory feeling of the first Nativity,” Johns said, “so people could enter into the mystery more deeply.”
Children painted rocks with Advent themes, learned to write Jesus in Hebrew and signed up for the census ordered by Caesar Augustus.
As St. Nicholas, Stephen Spolski handed out candy in gold coin wrappers to children.
A recent graduate of Penn State Schuylkill, Spolski is headed for the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine.
The Potteiger brothers – Bernard, Augustine and Jerome – portrayed the Magi, who brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to Bethlehem on the first Christmas.
The Potteiger brothers – Bernard, Augustine and Jerome – as the Magi at “Welcome to Bethlehem” in St. Ambrose parish center, Schuylkill Haven, on Dec. 14, 2025. RON DEVLIN/STAFF PHOTO
Perched on the center’s stage, Jacob Smalley and Julia Geirsson stood in as Joseph and Mary.
“This is a great way to bring everybody together,” said Geirsson, a sophomore at Blue Mountain High School.
Roseanne Bedway, adult faith formation coordinator, was part of the team that organized the program.
“It’s heartwarming to see children enjoying themselves so much,” she said. “It teaches them the real meaning of Christmas.”
The event benefited the St. Joseph Center for Special Learning on the St. Ambrose campus.