This year marks the anniversary of the first depiction of the Nativity scene which was created by Saint Francis at Christmas 1223 in the little Italian town of Greccio.

That year, the patron saint of Italy stopped in the Reatino valley, probably returning from Rome where, on 29 November he had received confirmation of his Rule from Pope Honorius III.

The caves near Greccio reminded him of those he had seen in the Holy Land and, in particular, the panorama of Bethlehem.

Franciscan Sources illustrate in detail how the idea of the first Nativity scene came about. Two weeks before Christmas Francis called a man named Giovanni and asked him to help him out with a great desire of his: “I would like to represent the Child born in Bethlehem and in some way see with my own eyes … how he was placed in a manger and how he lay on the straw between the ox and the ass" (FF, 468).

And this is exactly what happened on 25 December of that year, in the presence of many local men and women and many friars who had come for the occasion. Saint Francis saw it all - the manger with the straw, the ox, the ass - and became radiant with joy. “In that moving scene the simplicity of the Gospel shines forth, poverty is praised, humility is recommended. Greccio has become a new Bethlehem," he exclaimed (FF, 469).

Thus began the tradition of the Nativity scene, which continues to this day, in our homes and communities, as a symbol of peace, humility, simplicity, and communion.

“With the simplicity of that sign, Saint Francis carried out a great work of evangelization. His teaching touched the hearts of Christians and continues today to offer a simple yet authentic means of portraying the beauty of our faith. Indeed, the place where this first nativity scene was erected expresses and evokes these sentiments. Greccio has become a refuge for the soul, a mountain fastness wrapped in silence.” (Pope Francis, Apostolic Letter Admirabile signum, 2019).