On the Christmas of the Jubilee Year, the message and creativity of the nativity scenes in the Governorate

Jesus is born among recycled materials as everyday life unfolds

The theme of the nativity scene set up in the entrance of the Palace of the Governorate, is the Jubilee, with its depiction of a partly-opened Holy Door. Its uniqueness is that it can be contemplated from any direction because its creators, Augusto Minosse, Andrea Carlino and Fabio Frezza, of the Garden and Environmental Services of the Directorate for Infrastructures and Services, designed it with a 360 degree view in mind. It is set on a rocky hill and is protected by a colourful wooden and foam rubber covering, just below the main group of figures: Mary, Joseph and the Child, surrounded by the shepherds and the Magi.

The main scene, which is elevated with respect to the rest of the display, has no roof. Jesus is born under an open sky. In the background, one can glimpse a stone arch and the ruins of a wall. The arch represents Christ, the Door to Heaven, while the ruins of the wall represent the transience of human things, which have their salvation from inevitable destruction and oblivion, in the Messiah. The Magi also passed through the same arch on their way to pay homage to the Child, wearing sumptuous and colourful clothing, and carrying gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Moving slightly away from the main scene, one can see examples of everyday life, with details that recall the story of salvation, such as the nets of the fishermen, that represent the Apostles, the first disciples, Peter and Andrew, the shepherds and their flock, that represent the image of the Good Shepherd, who gives his life for his sheep, and the people who were told of the birth of the Saviour by rejoicing angels on Christmas Eve.

In the nativity scene, animals participate with humanity in the joy over Jesus’ birth. Lambs, sheep, chickens, ducks, and other fauna act as a backdrop to the birth of the Prince of Peace to the world, as people go about their daily business, some heading to the market, others busy at work. Towns and cities awaken to the newness that has changed the course of history: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called ‘Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace’”, as the Prophet Isaiah announced (9:5).

As the people go about their day, unbeknownst to them, just further away, an event is taking place before a few witnesses. Indeed, everyone can be a witness, even from a distance of time and space.

All these people are also protagonists of the nativity scene, as were the people of Greccio in 1223, when Saint Francis organized the first ever nativity scene. Today, just like then, the shepherds, women and men depicted in their daily lives, and the viewers, are in awe before the birth of the Child who will save the world. Above the nativity scene, like a weather vane, a large star indicates the precise location of the Saviour: in the midst of daily life where the setting is creation and the materials used by man, including recycled ones. In fact, the nativity scene is made of polystyrene, cork and scraps from packaging materials and carton, recycled inside the Vatican Gardens.

Cork was crucial in making the nativity scene located in Santa Marta Square, in front of the Church of Saint Stephen of the Abyssinians, which leans on some telephone cables. The roof is made of recycled wood recovered from the scraps of platforms used in construction. The nativity scene is set in a tree trunk in the Vatican Gardens, below branches that will be pruned, thus respecting the environment by ensuring that no branches were cut specifically to build the nativity scene. The Child, Mary and Joseph are below a timber roof truss, covered with roof tiles.

The characters depicted in the monumental nativity scene in the entrance to the Palace of the Governorate hail from the Neapolitan tradition.

An additional two nativity scenes have been set up on the building’s first floor. The one in the hall of the presidency is made from simple materials, including polystyrene, scraps of carton and other recycled materials, cork and moss. Jesus’ birth is not in the centre, but to the side, highlighting that the Lord enters the history of humanity in silence, without fanfare, not by imposing himself, but by offering himself. The roof of the nativity scene is in ruins, surrounded by rocks and a few shrubs. It is in contrast with the liveliness and the details of the town in the brightly lit background, where homes and workshops are filled with people at work. There is a frenzy in these characters. Merchants and artisans are busy at work and sellers serve at market stalls, in a dynamic atmosphere in which people are in movement, on their way to buy what they need: food, animals and various objects. Some of the characters are resting, others observe the wayfarers. Some play instruments, while others sleep, leaning on a haystack, as sheep, donkeys and horses roam in the background. There is also a bakery, where an artisan is busy baking bread.

The nativity scene set up in the entrance to the General Secretariat is set in the Holy Land at the time of Jesus. There are white traditional dome-roofed houses, surrounded by palm trees and shrubs, and camels mingle about the streets with wayfarers, merchants, shepherds and flocks of sheep, as a soft light provides a warm atmosphere that reverberates throughout the town and the desert.

Many people collaborated with and supported the three curators in making these nativity scenes, including the Chaplain of the Directorate for Infrastructures and Services, Fr. José Antonio Izquierdo Labeaga, L.C., employees of the Office responsible for construction, of the Mechanical Workshop and of the Electrical Systems Laboratory.