VATICAN CORNER

The Christmas tree and Nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square this year, while very beautiful, also highlight social issues such as care for the environment, inspiration for the sick, and the plight of migrants. The 82 ft. high spruce tree came from the Trentino region of northern Italy, and a nearby area there had lost its trees due to a parasite. So school students will be planting nearly 40 new spruce and larch seedlings to reforest that area. The Christmas tree is decorated with handmade ornaments created from ceramic therapy workshops for children undergoing treatment for cancer and other illnesses at several Italian hospitals. The brightly colored ornaments have on their faces the drawings created by the children. This year the giant Nativity scene was donated by the bishops and the government of Malta. It has 17 statues which are dressed in traditional Maltese costumes along with a replica of a traditional Maltese boat. The Vatican office overseeing the decorations said that in addition to displaying Maltese tradition, the boat also represents the journey migrants have made across the sea in their makeshift boats to reach Italy. In an audience on 12/9/2016, Pope Francis thanked the donors of the tree, several of the children who designed the ornaments, and the designer of the Nativity scene, telling them these gifts “form a message of hope and love” and that their gifts would be admired in Saint Peter’s Square “by pilgrims from around the world during Advent and the Christmas holidays.” He told the tree donors that “the beauty of those views (trees) is an invitation to contemplate the Creator and to respect nature, the work of his hands.” He said that the “ornaments represent the values of life, love and peace that Christ’s Christmas proposes to us anew each year.” He said the Maltese vessel, recalled “the sad and tragic reality of migrants on boats making their way toward Italy.” He expressed the hope that “those who visit this nativity scene would be invited to rediscover its symbolic value”, which was “a message of fraternity, of sharing, of welcome and solidarity.” He concluded by saying that “the crib and the tree form a message of hope and love, and help create a Christmas spirit that can draw us closer to living with faith the mystery of the birth of the Redeemer who came to this earth in simplicity and meekness.”

Source: news.va, twitter.com/maryshovlain