The ceremony in which Cardinal Fernando Vergez Alzaga and Sister Raffaella Petrini, respectively president and secretary general of the Governorate of the State of the Vatican City, inaugurated the nativity scene and turned on the lighting of the Christmas tree, set up in the center of Bernini’s oval.
The Crib created in Sutrio has been inaugurated in the Vatican
The official delegations of the places of origin of the crib and the tree were present, coming respectively from Sutrio, in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and from Rosello, in Abruzzo.
A delegation from Guatemala also took part – led by Mario Bucaro Flores, Minister of Foreign Affairs – who set up the crib in the Paul VI Hall. In particular, for the artistic crib – made entirely of wood – the president of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, Massimiliano Fedriga, and the mayor of Sutrio, Manlio Mattia, were present, among others.
The ceremony
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On the morning of Saturday 3 December, the delegations were received in audience by Pope Francis for the official presentation of the gifts. The nativity scene and the tree in St. Peter’s Square will remain on display until the end of the Christmas season, which coincides with the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Sunday 8 January 2023.
The ceremony
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Hand-carved by 11 wood artists, spread over an area of 116 m2, the Sutrio crib is made up of 18 life-size statues. The dome of the crib, dominated by the angel, reaches a height of 7 meters.
No trees were cut down for the cedar wood statues and for the structure, built with 24 cubic meters of larch wood. The cradle for the baby, entirely made with recycled material, was carved from the root of a tree uprooted during the Vaia storm of 2018.