The Vatican kicked off its Christmas season on Monday with the lighting of the Christmas tree in St. Peter's Square — a stunning 25-year-old Norwegian spruce from the forests of the Italian Alpine municipalities of Lagundo and Ultimo, and the unveiling of its nativity scene, depicting a scene from Southern Italy.
Accompanying the tree from the Trentino Alto Adige region were 40 smaller trees distributed throughout the Vatican.
Following criticism from previous years, the green branches will not be discarded but will be transformed into natural essential oils, while the trunk's wood will have a second life: it will be donated to a charity to be processed and reused.
As for the nativity scene, it comes from the diocese of Nocera Inferiore-Sarno in the Campania region and is a tribute to the tradition of Southern Italy and Neapolitan nativity scenes.
A feature of this nativity scene is that it represents elements of the area, as the Nativity is depicted under the baptistery of Santa Maria Maggiore in the town of Nocera Superiore, and the fountain of Saint Helvio in Sant’Egidio del Monte Albino and the typical courtyards of the area have also been recreated, with the pavement featuring ancient Roman stone-paved roads.
It occupies a rectangular space of 17 by 12 meters and is almost 8 meters high in the center of St. Peter's Square.
During the lighting ceremony, Christmas carols and traditional songs were sung by choirs from the Italian municipalities that donated the tree.
This morning, while receiving the donors of the nativity scene and the Christmas tree in the Paul VI Hall, Pope Leo XIV commented that "the nativity scene and the tree are signs of faith and hope".
"As we contemplate them in our homes, parishes, and squares, we ask the Lord to renew in us the gift of peace and fraternity. We pray for those who suffer because of war and violence," he said.
And he added: "For pilgrims from all over the world who will gather in St. Peter's Square, the nativity scene will remind them that God draws near to humanity, becomes one of us, entering our history with the smallness of a child".
