On Monday, December 15, Sister Raffaella Petrini, President of the Governatorate of the Vatican City State, lighted up and formally opened the Vatican’s Christmas tree and nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square.
Sister Petrini said that the Nativity scene and the Christmas tree are not merely Christmas decorations, but signs of communion that calls to create peace and to care for the creation. Recalling that next year marks the 800th anniversary of the Saint Francis of Assisi’s death in 1223, the opening of the Christmas tree and the nativity scene at St. Peter’s Square is a universal invitation to fraternity world-wide to share peace, which St. Francis emphasized and was the hallmark of his charism.
Religious and other leaders from the dioceses that presented the tree and the nativity scene also spoke at the inauguration ceremony. Before the event, they had the opportunity to meet with Pope Leo XIV. Traditional Christmas carols and dances were performed by Vatican Gendarmerie’s band and several choirs and bands from the dioceses.
The tree and the nativity scene will be on display until the end of the Christmas season, which falls on Sunday, January 11, 2026, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.
The nativity scene was created in the southern Italian diocese of Nocera Inferiore-Sarno, which was represented by Bishop Giuseppe Giudice. Diocese of Bolzano-Bressanone in northern Italy, gifted the Christmas tree in the presence of Bishop Ivo Muser.
The Governatorate’s secretaries general, Giuseppe Puglisi-Alibrandi and Archbishop Emilio Nappa, also took part in the inaugural ceremony.
The nativity scene is displayed on a 17 by 12-meter (56 by 39-foot) platform and is 7.70 meters (25 feet) high. In addition to paying homage to several saints and religious leaders significant to the area, such as St. Alphonsus Liguori, founder of the Redemptorists (Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer) and the Servants of God, Father Enrico Smaldone and Alfonso Russo, it has many traditional architectural and cultural features from the Agro Nocerino-Sarnese area.
It also features emblems that showcase the region’s culinary and wine traditions. Life-size shepherds and animal sculptures have been affixed to the paving, which depicts ancient Roman highways in stone slabs.
This year’s Christmas tree is a European spruce and came all the way from the Diocese of Bolzano-Bressanone. It was a gift from the northern Italian towns of Lagundo and Ultimo. It is 25 meters (82 feet) long and weighs over 8000 kilogrammes (more than 17000 pounds).
Along with the big tree, forty lesser trees will be transported to the Vatican and utilised to adorn buildings, offices, and public areas within the Holy See. In keeping with the idea of care for creation, essential oils will be harvested from the tree’s branches at the end of the Christmas season and an association will recycle the remaining wood.
Photo credits – Vatican news
