The Vatican unveiled its annual nativity scene earlier this evening, paying special tribute to the origins of the beloved tradition on its 800-year anniversary. / Credit:
Vatican City, Dec 9, 2023 / 18:00 pm (CNA).
The Vatican unveiled its annu… […]
null / Credit: Anneka/Shutterstock
ACI Prensa Staff, Dec 9, 2023 / 08:00 am (CNA).
Since Dec. 2, the faithful in Barranquilla, Colombia, have been able to visit the staging of “the largest Nativity scene in the world” where 90 actors interpret … […]
null / Credit: Walter Chávez / Unsplash
ACI Prensa Staff, Jun 28, 2023 / 15:00 pm (CNA).
Given the possibility that the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) may prohibit Nativity scenes on public property, the Mexican Bishops’ Conferen… […]
A nativity scene carved out of olive wood by the Zakharia Brothers workshop in Bethlehem. / Zakharia Brothers
Bethlehem, West Bank, Dec 28, 2022 / 06:00 am (CNA).
Around the corner from the spot where Jesus was born in Bethlehem, a Catholic fam… […]
Pope Francis at the Wednesday general audience on Dec. 28, 2022. / Credit: Vatican Media.
Vatican City, Dec 28, 2022 / 05:00 am (CNA).
The manger and the cross are the chosen thrones of Jesus Christ, our King, Pope Francis said on Wednesday.“Wh… […]
null / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Rome Newsroom, Dec 27, 2022 / 08:50 am (CNA).
On Dec. 26, actors in Greccio, Italy, about 50 miles north of Rome, put on a play telling the story of how St. Francis of Assisi created the first living Nativity sc… […]
Fresco by Giotto of St. Francis of Assisi embracing the Child Jesus at Christmas Mass in Greccio in 1223, located in the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Assisi, Italy. / Public domain
Rome Newsroom, Dec 23, 2022 / 08:00 am (CNA).
It’s a we… […]
null / Alan Koppschall/CNA.
Rome, Italy, Dec 19, 2022 / 03:00 am (CNA).
Catholics from Italy participated in a re-enactment of the Christmas story in Rome on Saturday.The processional living nativity began outside Rome’s cathedral, the Basilica… […]
Pope Francis gives his Angelus message for the Third Sunday of Advent on Dec. 11, 2022. / Vatican Media.
Vatican City, Dec 11, 2022 / 05:05 am (CNA).
The season of Advent is a time to let ourselves be surprised by God’s mercy and compassion, Po… […]
Installation of the first Nativity scene in the European Parliament / Credit: European People’s Party
CNA Newsroom, Dec 5, 2022 / 12:25 pm (CNA).
Christmas this year marks the first time in its history that the European Parliament has allowed a Nativity scene to be set up at its headquarters in Brussels. Until now, officials of the European institution had considered it “potentially offensive.”
The efforts of Isabel Benjumea, a member in the EU’s House of Representatives from Spain, were key to finally having a Nativity scene on display at the institution.
When she was elected in 2019, Benjumea tried her first year in office to prepare the groundwork for a gift of a Nativity scene to the parliament that would be exhibited during the Christmas season. However, she ran into European bureaucracy and deadlines.
The following year she began to take the necessary steps. The response could not have been more disheartening.
A Nativity scene could not be installed, she was informed by the office of the President of Parliament, because it was “potentially offensive” to nonbelievers.
“This had become a kind of crusade because it seemed unacceptable to me to ignore the Christian roots of Europe,” the parliamentarian told Spanish newspaper ABC.
Finally, this year the effort had the support of the Maltese president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, although the Nativity scene has only been “authorized as a special exhibition,” which may or may not be renewed in the future.
The Nativity scene on display in the European Parliament is from Murcia, a region in southeastern Spain with a great tradition of Nativity scenes and imagery.
Artisans from the workshop of Jesús Griñán created the Nativity scene.
In his Aug. 24, 2003, Angelus address, St. John Paul II noted that he was prayerfully following the drafting of the Constitutional Treaty of the European Union.
The pontiff said that “the Catholic Church is convinced that the Gospel of Christ, which has been a unifying element of the European peoples for many centuries, should be and continue to be today too an inexhaustible source of spirituality and fraternity. Taking note of this is for the benefit of all, and an explicit recognition of the Christian roots of Europe in the treaty represents the principle guarantee for the continent’s future.”
However, the pope’s efforts were ignored.
In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI strongly criticized the EU for excluding any mention of God or the continent’s Christian roots in the institution’s declarations on the 50th anniversary of its founding.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
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