Italy will be the guest of honour at the 6th edition of the international exhibition “100 Presepi in Vaticano” (100 Nativity Scenes in the Vatican) with the Greccio Nativity (RI). The event will take place from 8 December 2023 to 7 January 2024 under the Bernini colonnade in Saint Peter’s Square.
Every year, the Dicastery for Evangelisation invites an Embassy accredited to the Holy See to enliven the opening of the exhibition “100 Nativity Scenes in the Vatican” and exhibit one or more Nativity scenes emblematic of their country’s religious tradition.
To mark the 800th anniversary of the first Nativity scene created by Saint Francis in the small mountain town of Greccio on 24 December 1223, Italy’s Embassy to the Holy See, and in particular the Municipality of Greccio, was chosen, with an invitation from the Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelisation, Monsignor Rino Fisichella.
The Municipality of Greccio, which enthusiastically accepted the Dicastery’s invitation, will display some works depicting the Nativity of Francis from the Greccio Sanctuary and other collections for the exhibition. The opening day will be animated by a musical performance staged by the classes of the Greccio secondary school.
The event “100 Nativity Scenes in the Vatican”, recalling Saint Francis and involving Greccio, Municipality twinned with Assisi and Bethlehem, seeks to launch a message of peace and unity to the world.
