{"id":445279,"date":"2025-12-13T23:22:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-13T23:22:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/445279\/"},"modified":"2025-12-13T23:22:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T23:22:14","slug":"pope-the-nativity-is-a-gift-of-light-for-our-world-in-need-of-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/445279\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope: The Nativity is a gift of light for our world in need of hope"},"content":{"rendered":"

Speaking to about 1,000 people taking part in the \u201cLiving Nativity\u201d tradition at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, Pope Leo challenges them to spread the message that we are never alone and continue to be \u201cpilgrims of hope, bearers of consolation and inspiration for all those you meet.\u201d<\/p>\n

By Kielce Gussie<\/b><\/p>\n

As the second week of Advent draws to a close, inching the Christmas season closer and closer, Pope Leo XIV celebrated a special tradition here at the heart of Rome. At the Vatican, the Pope welcomed about 1,000 participants in the \u201cLiving Nativity\u201d, who will process today to the Basilica of St. Mary Major.<\/p>\n

He said that the group comes from all over to visit St. Peter\u2019s tomb, which reflects the generations of pilgrims who have travelled across the globe to visit this sacred place. After their meeting with the Pope, the group will celebrate Holy Mass at the Basilica of St. Mary Major\u2014also known as the \u201cBethlehem of the West\u201d as the Holy Crib is preserved there.<\/p>\n

\"Holy<\/p>\n

\n Holy Crib is preserved and venerated at the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome\n <\/p>\n

Pope Leo highlighted that the crib is the ancient relic, \u201ctogether with the pilgrimage to the Holy Land, that inspired Saint Francis, in 1223, to celebrate the first \u2018Nativity of Greccio,\u2019 marking the beginning of the Nativity scene tradition.\u201d<\/p>\n

From that moment on\u2014more than 800 years ago\u2014people in all corners of the earth continue the tradition of making a Nativity scene.<\/p>\n

A message of hope our world needs today<\/b> <\/p>\n

The Holy Father reflected on two of his predecessors\u2019 comments on this Christmas icon. In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI described the Nativity as God’s coming without weapons or force to \u201cconquer pride, violence, and man\u2019s craving for possession\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"In<\/p>\n

\n In 1223, St. Francis began the tradition of the Nativity scene in Greccio, Italy\n <\/p>\n

Ten years later, Pope Francis explained that in front of the Nativity scene, \u201cwhile we contemplate the Christmas scene, we are invited to spiritually set out on a journey, attracted by the humility of Him who became man to meet every man\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is exactly the case,\u201d Pope Leo noted, because in the cave of Bethlehem, the Holy Family find themselves in \u201cdisarming poverty\u201d. It is here that \u201cwe begin again to start a new life following in Christ’s footsteps.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the \u201cLiving Nativity\u201d participants process through the streets of Rome to the Basilica, they will be \u201ca joyful sign\u201d of the beauty of being Jesus\u2019 disciples. \u201cThis makes you \u2014 today, and always, as a mission for your daily life \u2014 pilgrims of hope, bearers of consolation and inspiration for all those you meet\u201d, the Holy Father said.<\/p>\n

Their mission is one for everyone: the young and old, the healthy and sick, the lonely, and those suffering.<\/p>\n

Closing, Pope Leo stressed that the Nativity scene is an important sign that \u201cwe are part of a marvelous adventure of Salvation in which we are never alone\u201d. He challenged the \u201cLiving Nativity\u201d participants to spread this message and keep the tradition alive as \u201cit is a gift of light for our world, which so desperately needs to continue hoping.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photogallery<\/p>\n

\n Participants in the “Living Nativity” meet with Pope Leo XIV<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Speaking to about 1,000 people taking part in the \u201cLiving Nativity\u201d tradition at the Basilica of St. Mary…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":445280,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[44679,50,3417,173003,103],"class_list":{"0":"post-445279","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-christmas","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-pope-leo-xiv","11":"tag-st-mary-major","12":"tag-world"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115714834065529981","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=445279"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445279\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/445280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=445279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=445279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=445279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}