Press Communiqué of the Governorate of Vatican City State – Christmas 2025

From Val d’Ultimo, in the province of Bolzano, comes the majestic Norway spruce, 25 meters tall and weighing 8,000 kilograms, which will be set up in St. Peter’s Square for Christmas 2025. It was felled at five o’clock on, 24 November, and has been sent to Rome.

It is a gift from the municipalities of Lagundo and Val d’Ultimo which, together, are a territory of extraordinary beauty, dotted with ancient farmsteads, lakes, streams, forests, high mountains, and vast expanses of meadows.

In addition to the spruce chosen for the Square, another 40 smaller trees will be brought to the Vatican. These decorated trees will be displayed in offices and buildings of the Holy See.

When selecting the tree, the forest custodial service carried out a process guided by respect for sustainability, identifying more mature trees whose removal forms part of a natural renewal cycle.

As the Bishop of Bolzano-Bressanone, Monsignor Ivo Muser, noted in an interview with www.vaticanstate.va:

“Cutting down the tree is not a disrespectful act, but the result of careful forest management, in which harvesting is part of active stewardship that ensures the health of the forest and keeps its growth under control. Moreover, in Alto Adige, reforestation is not just a project, but an established practice and a pillar of sustainable forest management, where for every tree cut down, new ones are planted, ensuring healthy and resilient forests for future generations.”

The tree will remain on display until the conclusion of the Christmas Season. When the time comes, essential oils will be extracted from its green branches by the Austrian company Wilder Naturprodukte, while the remaining wood will be donated to a charitable organization for reuse in a sustainable way.