Saint Francis of Assisi loved the feast of Christmas above all other celebrations, because the Son of God, King of Glory, came into the world. He came into the world to bring Peace and the Lord’s Presence.
With Christmas, the Son of God immerses himself in our humanity and we immerse ourselves in his kind, affable and merciful presence.
Dearest All, Merry Christmas!
Saying Francis at Christmas means saying Greccio, in memory of when Francis wanted to celebrate Christmas in a castle in the Holy Valley at the gates of Rieti, to remember how God had chosen to give birth to his son among the poor, not by bad luck but by choice, among the straw with the ox and the donkey, with the shepherds and their brides rushed from the surrounding mountains: not necessarily the least of the earth, but the most sincere, the truest.
From this extraordinary experience was born the devotion and practice of the crib, which the Franciscan friars over the centuries have spread throughout the world.
In its twenty-first year, the Sand Nativity of Jesolo arrives in Assisi with an edition entirely dedicated to Saint Francis and the eighth centenary of Greccio’s Christmas.
Live the experience in the space
As the Cardinal Ravasi writes, “Celebrating Christmas does not just mean preparing a beautiful Nativity scene carved with its shepherds, with the Magi in long robes and a heavenly joy suffused throughout the scenario»
800 years ago, on Christmas Eve 1223, Saint Francis wanted to celebrate the Christmas of the Lord in a cave in Greccio. For this purpose he had an altar prepared for the holy mass, he had the ox and the donkey arranged and finally the manger with straw. Thanks to his engaging homily, the people who were present were so touched that they had a profound spiritual experience: the infant Jesus was lying in them as if He was asleep because of their neglect, and they experienced once again the tenderness of God in their lives. To confirm all this, a noble present, Giovanni Velita, from the town of Celano, who had helped Francis in the preparations, had a vision: he saw Francis pulling up from the manger and hugging the child Jesus.
From this extraordinary experience the devotion and practice of the crib was born, which the Franciscan friars over the centuries have spread throughout the world.
The Sand Nativity, which the municipality of Jesolo (after the experience of the installation in St Peter’s Square in Rome in 2018 and in Matera in 2019) donated this year to the Franciscan community and to the pilgrims and visitors of St Francis in Assisi, wants to celebrate in a particular way the 800 years of Christmas celebrated by Saint Francis in Greccio on the night between the 24th and 25th December 1223.
The crib speaks to us of the tenderness of the Lord Jesus to humanity and urges us to recognize him in those who are close to us, especially in those who are in difficulty or are tried by life. It is so significant that from January 7th, the crib will return to be simply sand, because it has sent us back to the importance of relations with people, which are our only wealth, the only thing that really remains and that accompany us for eternity.
This year we too, here in Assisi, in the Basilica that houses the mortal remains of Francis, inspired by him and by the grace of God, we wish to relive together with you the tenderness and beauty of God’s love, who made Himself one of us in Jesus. The tenderness of gestures and beauty of art will go hand in hand: if you want to join us, you are welcome!
Made by three international artists (David Ducharme, Susanne Ruseler and Ilya Filimontsev), the crib depicts the Holy Family with Saint Francis holding the Child Jesus. Behind them, some architectural elements of Assisi and the Sanctuary of Greccio compose the background.
Under the patronage of
With the support of
In collaboration with
