VATICAN CITY (RNS) — 'Christmas reminds us that Jesus is our peace, our joy, our strength, our comfort,' Pope Francis said at the Vatican’s traditional lighting ceremony, Friday (Dec. 11).

On Dec. 9, a massive 82-foot tree from the Dolomites was lit in St. Peter’s Square, next to the nearly life-size Nativity scene, donated to the Vatican by the Archdiocese of Malta and designed ...

Vatican City, Oct 30, 2023 / 12:45 pm. The Christmas 2023 Nativity scene at the Vatican will evoke the first-ever live manger, which was created by St. Francis of Assisi in Italy in the 1200s, the ...

The tree will be lighted, and the traditional Nativity scene unveiled Dec. 3, the office said. The display will remain up until after the feast of the Baptism of the Lord Jan. 8.

Pope Francis attends an audience with delegations of the donors of the Christmas tree and Nativity Scene at the Vatican, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) ...

VATICAN CHRISTMAS: The Vatican illuminated this year's Christmas tree and unveiled the nativity scene for the holiday season on Saturday (12/7). The 95-foot-tall red spruce hails from a forest in ...

Christmas 2023 marks 800 years since St. Francis of Assisi staged the first manger scene in the hill town of Greccio, about 50 miles north of Rome. Pope Francis visits the Nativity scene in St ...

The Vatican unveiled the Nativity scene and lit the Christmas tree with energy-saving lights in St. Peter’s Square during a late afternoon ceremony Dec. 5.