December 20, 2023 / 04:45 AM
Just 5 days before the arrival of Christmas, Pope Francis dedicated the General Audience to reflecting on the joy of contemplating the manger, which is born from amazement and which leads us to what is “really important.”
From the Paul VI Hall of the Vatican, the Holy Father recalled that this year marks the 800th anniversary of the first nativity scene in history, which was inspired by Saint Francis of Assisi on Christmas 1223 in Greccio, a small town in Italy.
The Pontiff affirmed that the saint of Assisi did not want to “create a precious work of art, but rather to arouse, through the manger, amazement.” An amazement or stupor “at the extreme humility of the Lord, at the privations that he suffered, for love of us, in the poor grotto of Bethlehem.”