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5d ago

Vatican Lights St. Peter’s Tree and Nativity as Pope Condemns Sydney Antisemitic Attack

Pope Leo XIV used the occasion to denounce the Sydney attack, calling for peace.

A 27-meter fir tree from the Ultimo valley in South Tyrol, Italy, is lit up as Christmas tree together with a crib in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
A nativity scene designed and crafted in Nocera Inferiore and Sarno in southern Italy, is lit up in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Monday, Dec.15, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
A nativity scene designed and crafted in Nocera Inferiore and Sarno in southern Italy, is lit up in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Monday, Dec.15, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
A 27-meter fir tree from the Ultimo valley in South Tyrol, Italy, is lit up as Christmas tree together with a crib in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Overview

  • On Dec. 15, Sister Raffaella Petrini led the official lighting and inauguration in St. Peter’s Square with delegations from the donating dioceses.
  • The life-size Nativity was created by the Diocese of Nocera Inferiore–Sarno on a 17-by-12-meter base rising 7.7 meters and showcases elements from the Campania region.
  • The 25-meter European spruce came from the Diocese of Bolzano–Bressanone as a gift of Lagundo and Ultimo, with additional smaller trees destined for Vatican offices and sites.
  • Earlier in the day, the pope met donors in the Paul VI Hall, urged prayers for victims of war and violence, and decried “these forms of antisemitic violence” after the Sydney attack.
  • The Paul VI Hall crèche by Costa Rican artist Paula Sáenz Soto features 28,000 ribbons representing lives preserved from abortion, and the displays will remain on view through the Christmas season; reports said the pope did not attend the evening ceremony.