Vatican City, Dec 18, 2010 / 15:01 pm
The Vatican is preparing its traditional Nativity scene and giant Christmas tree in St. Peter’s Square. Pope Benedict said the display and tree help create the right context in which to experience the “mystery” of Jesus’ birth.
Behind a curtain wall encircling the obelisk in St. Peter’s Square, laborers and construction workers are building the Vatican’s Nativity scene. Meanwhile, tailors are preparing the costumes for the larger-than-life statues of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
Pope Benedict XVI said the Christmas tree enriches the “symbolic value” of the Nativity scene, whose message is one of fraternity and friendship. The Nativity scene is also an invitation to unity and peace and an invitation to “make space for God in our life and society.”
“He offers us His omnipotent love through the fragile figure of a child, because He wants us to respond freely with our own love,” he continued. Together, the Nativity scene and the Christmas tree help create the right spiritual and religious context “in which to experience the mystery of the birth of the Redeemer.”