Press Release of the Governorate of Vatican City State

CEREMONY ON THE OCCASION OF THE INAUGURATION OF THE NATIVITY SCENE AND THE LIGHTING OF THE CHRISTMAS TREE IN SAINT PETER’S SQUARE

Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga and Sr. Raffaella Petrini, respectively the President and Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican City State, will inaugurate the Nativity Scene and will illuminate the Christmas tree in Saint Peter’s Square. The ceremony will take place on Saturday 7 December at 18.30.

In the morning, in the Paul VI Hall, the “Nativity of Bethlehem 2024” will also be inaugurated: a collection of representations of the Nativity, all produced and realized in Bethlehem by local craftspeople. For the occasion, a representation from the Embassy of the State of Palestine to the Holy See will be present.

At the same time, again in the Paul VI Hall, the delegations will be received in audience by Pope Francis for the official presentation of the gifts.

The official delegations from the places of origin of the Nativity display and the tree in Saint Peter’s Square will be present at the afternoon ceremony, from Grado, in the diocese of Gorizia, and Ledro, in the diocese of Trento respectively. In particular, for the artistic Nativity display, Bishop Carlo Roberto Redaelli of Gorizia, the curator of the project Antonio Boemo, the mayor Giuseppe Corbatto, and the civic band “Città di Grado”.

For the Christmas tree, Bishop Lauro Tisi, the president of the province of Trento, Maurizio Fugatti, the mayor of Ledro, Renato Girardi, the Cima d’Oro Choir, the Val di Ledro Band Corps and the City of Arco Accordion Group will participate, among others.

The Nativity scene and the tree in Saint Peter's Square will remain on display until the end of Christmas Time, which coincides with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Sunday 12 January 2025.

The great work of the Nativity Scene, which Grado is bringing to Saint Peter's Square in the Vatican this year, has, in addition to the centrality of the birth of the Baby Jesus, love as its leitmotif, and also proposes scenes of daily life full of affection and industriousness.

Grado therefore brings to Saint Peter's Square the Community Nativity Scene, created by some forty people, all volunteers, professionals and artists in their respective fields, mostly expressions of local associations.

One of the different aspects of the seaside city was chosen as the setting, that of its unique, living lagoon, which is also linked to the historical nature of the island being, referring to the distant period of the patriarchs, the daughter of Aquileia but, above all, the mother of Venice.

A lagoon once permanently inhabited by hundreds of Grado inhabitants, the so-called “casoneri”, because they lived in “casoni”, the typical reed buildings.

And it is precisely inside a “casone” that the Nativity is placed, a work realized, together with all the other numerous statues, by father and daughter, Lorenzo and Francesca Boemo.

Statues that have the characteristic of being full of mud, precisely that of the lagoon. The setting chosen is that of the early 1900s.

The “casoneri” returned to Grado only three times a year, for Easter, for the “Perdòn de Barbana”, the votive procession of the people of Grado who go to give thanks to the Virgin of the Sanctuary of the island of Barbana and, of course, for Christmas.

The idea and coordination of everything Grado is preparing to “disembark” in Saint Peter's Square is the work of Cavaliere Antonio Boemo. The detailed planning and technical coordination are by architect Andrea de Walderstein.

To refer to “disembarking” is perfectly pertinent, since the work also envisages the presence of water inside a long embankment (about one hundred metres of handmade polystyrene blocks), where two “batele”, the characteristic flat-bottomed boats used to navigate along the canals of the lagoon, will float. There will also be a little beach with a grandmother keeping an eye on her grandchildren and dog.

With regard to industriousness, one must remember that in the lagoon, except for the young children who attended school on the island of Anfora, everyone worked to help get by. This included women. And it was one of these, a fisherwoman who assisted her husband, who led the “batela” carrying the Magi.

In the middle of the lagoon, as in reality, there are also some “briccole”, a nautical structure used to indicate the direction to take: Aquileia, the Shrine of the Crowned Virgin of the Island of Barbana, Trieste and Venice. And then the rich vegetation and birdlife produced using a 3D printer. Speaking of which, to prevent the mass arrival of seagulls, two ultrasonic bollards with variable frequency have been installed.

The passion for nativity scenes in Grado is very deep-rooted, so much so that for many decades now an important exhibition has been held with the works on display, both along the calli of the old town centre, with its typical Venetian imprint, where there are also two precious early Christian basilicas (the one dedicated to Saint Euphemia was consecrated in 579 by Patriarch Elias), and in other parts of the city, also in special rooms.

The Nativity scene, which will be exhibited in the Paul VI Hall, is intended to recall the Holy Land - the privileged place in salvation history, whose soil was traversed by the Saviour, and where his incarnation, birth, passion, death and resurrection took place - a daily theatre of destruction, conflict, mourning and violence. The art installation has been given the name “Bethlehem Nativity 2024”. It was designed by two Bethlehem artists: Johny Andonia and Faten Nastas Mitwasi. It is a three-metre high main structure, consisting of a circular shaped base, with shelves on which a variety of nativity scenes are displayed and, at the top, the famous star of Bethlehem. In the representation, the centuries-old traditions of local craftsmen are combined with contemporary elements. The materials used are iron for the main structure, olive wood for the statues of the Holy Family and the other representations, but also mother-of-pearl, stone, ceramics, glass, felt and fabric. During the preparation, collection and construction of the works of art, the artists collaborated with some local Christian institutions.

From Ledro in Trentino comes the majestic 29-metre-high mature fir tree. The choice of this specimen was determined not only by an aesthetic value, but also by an ecologically responsible one, considering that the removal of the tree will guarantee the natural replacement of the forest for the coming decades. The forests in the area are PEFC certified. A PEFC-certified forest is a forest that is managed in line with the strictest environmental, social and economic requirements. The annual regrowth of the Ledro forest is certified at 8,260 cubic metres, and the fir tree taken is part of one of the plots that will have to be cut for the correct cultivation of the forest.

The initiative of the Christmas gift from Ledro to Pope Francis was not, however, limited to the main fir tree: associations, institutions, organizations, and ordinary citizens - both individually and in groups - dedicated themselves to the decoration of 39 other smaller trees, purchased and coming from dedicated cultivations, to be destined for offices, public places and buildings of the Holy See.

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