{"id":64317,"date":"2025-12-18T14:28:21","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T14:28:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/64317\/"},"modified":"2025-12-18T14:28:21","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T14:28:21","slug":"christmas-creche-tree-are-signs-of-hope-pope-says-diocese-of-scranton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/64317\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas creche, tree are signs of hope, pope says \u2013 Diocese of Scranton"},"content":{"rendered":"

VATICAN CITY (CNS) \u2013 The Nativity scene and the Christmas tree are signs of faith and hope, Pope Leo XIV said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we contemplate them in our homes, parishes and town squares, let us ask the Lord to renew in us the gift of peace and fraternity,\u201d he said, calling for prayers for all those who suffer because of war and violence. \u201cWe must eliminate hatred from our hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pope was speaking Dec. 15 during a meeting with the government representatives, artisans and donors responsible for providing the Christmas decorations in the Paul VI Audience Hall and in St. Peter\u2019s Square.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Christmas tree is lighted in St. Peter\u2019s Square at the Vatican Dec. 15, 2025. (CNS photo\/Lola Gomez)<\/p>\n

Pope Leo thanked the Costa Rican artist who created the Nativity scene for the audience hall, titled \u201cNacimiento Gaudium.\u201d Created by Paula S\u00e1enz Soto, it features a pregnant Virgin Mary and 28,000 colored ribbons, each representing a life saved from abortion thanks to the prayers and support provided to many mothers in difficulty by Catholic organizations, according to a press release by the Vatican City State\u2019s governing office.<\/p>\n

On Christmas Eve, the statue will be replaced with a different statue of Mary kneeling in adoration of the newborn Baby Jesus, and 400 ribbons will be placed in Jesus\u2019 manger containing prayers and wishes written by young patients at the National Children\u2019s Hospital in San Jos\u00e9.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thank the Costa Rican artist who, together with the message of peace at Christmas, also wanted to launch an appeal for the protection of life from the moment of conception,\u201d Pope Leo said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Pope Leo XIV stops to pray in front of the Nativity scene in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican Dec. 15, 2025. Thanking the artists and donors responsible for the Vatican Christmas decorations, the pope asked for prayers for members of the Jewish community in Australia after the terrorist attack the night before. (CNS photo\/Vatican Media)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Nativity scene and the Christmas tree are signs of faith and hope,\u201d he said to all those present. \u201cLet the tenderness of the child Jesus illuminate our lives. Let God\u2019s love, like the branches of an evergreen tree, remain fervent in us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pope thanked those from a small town in the northern autonomous province of Bolzano who donated the 82-foot-tall Norway spruce weighing 8.8 tons that was to be lit in a special ceremony Dec. 15 when the large Nativity scene in the square would be unveiled.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor pilgrims from all over the world who will gather in St. Peter\u2019s Square, the Nativity scene will remind them that God draws close to humanity, becomes one of us, entering our history in the smallness of a child,\u201d the pope said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore every Nativity scene, even those made in our homes, we relive that event and rediscover the need to seek moments of silence and prayer in our lives, to find ourselves and enter into communion with God,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Nativity scene in St. Peter\u2019s Square for 2025 came from a diocese south of Naples, not far from the Amalfi coast. Among the gifts being offered by the shepherds are agricultural products famous from the region, such as San Marzano and Corbarino tomatoes, walnuts, spring onions and artichokes.<\/p>\n

Both the creche and the tree were to be in St. Peter\u2019s Square until Jan. 11 \u2014 the feast of the Baptism of the Lord.<\/p>\n

The Vatican City State governing office said that the tree\u2019s needles and green branches will be sent to an Austrian company to extract its essential oils, and the wood will be donated to a charity.<\/p>\n

When Pope Leo met Dec. 13 with hundreds of people acting in a living Nativity scene being held at Rome\u2019s Basilica of St. Mary Major, he said the creche \u201cis an important sign: it reminds us that we are part of a wondrous adventure of salvation in which we are never alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSpread this message and keep this tradition alive. They are a gift of light for our world, which so badly needs to be able to continue to hope,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"VATICAN CITY (CNS) \u2013 The Nativity scene and the Christmas tree are signs of faith and hope, Pope…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":64318,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[178,180,179],"class_list":{"0":"post-64317","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-scranton","8":"tag-scranton","9":"tag-scranton-headlines","10":"tag-scranton-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64317"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64317\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}