Press Release – Governorate of Vatican City State – Christmas 2025

The majestic 25-metre-high spruce tree, weighing eight thousand kilos, which will be set up in Saint Peter’s Square for Christmas 2025, comes from Val d’Ultimo in the province of Bolzano. It was cut down at 5 o’clock on Monday 24 November and sent to Rome.

It is a gift from the municipalities of Lagundo and Val d’Ultimo, which together form an area of extraordinary beauty, dotted with ancient farmsteads, lakes, streams, woods, high mountains and wide expanses of meadows.

In addition to the fir tree chosen for the square, forty other smaller trees will also be brought to the Vatican. These decorated trees will be displayed in the offices and buildings of the Holy See.

In choosing the tree, the forestry service made a selection inspired by respect for sustainability, identifying more mature trees, the removal of which represents a natural replacement.

As the Bishop Ivo Muser of Bolzano Bressanone pointed out in an interview with www.vaticanstate.va:

“Cutting down a tree is not a disrespectful act, but the result of careful forest management, where harvesting is part of active care that ensures the health of the forest and keeps its growth under control. On the other hand, in South Tyrol, reforestation is not just a project, but an established practice and a pillar of sustainable forest management, where for every tree cut down, new ones are planted, ensuring healthy and resilient forests for future generations”.

The tree will remain on display until the end of Christmas Time. At the end, essential oils will be obtained from the green branches of the fir tree by the Austrian Wilder Naturprodukte, while the rest of the wood will be donated to a charitable association for recycling, in order to respect creation.