Greccio, Rome - In 1223, St. Francis of Assisi asked a friend to prepare a cave with live animals and a hay-filled manger to make Jesus’ birth come alive for the people at Christmas Mas in Greccio, Italy, about 50 miles north of Rome.
On Dec. 26, actors in the modern town of Greccio, put on a play every year around Christmas, telling the story of how St. Francis of Assisi created the first living Nativity scene.
In its 49th year, the historical re-enactment was also staged on Christmas Eve with other performances scheduled for Dec. 28 and on Jan. 1, 6, 7, and 8.
According to the first biographer of St. Francis, Brother Thomas of Celano, the poor friar desired to “represent the birth of that Child in Bethlehem in such a way that with our bodily eyes we may see what he suffered for lack of the necessities of a newborn babe and how he lay in manger between the ox and ass.”
The place where the first living Nativity took place can still be seen today in the Franciscan hermitage and sanctuary outside the main town. The rock is topped by an altar for celebrating Mass and adorned with frescoes depicting Jesus’ birth.
The cave where St. Francis of Assisi staged the first living Nativity scene in Greccio, Italy. Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CAN
Pope Francis has visited the spot two times: in 2016 and then on Dec. 1, 2019, when he signed an apostolic letter on the meaning and importance of Nativity scenes.
-CNA