In 1995, to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, President Jimmy Carter, President Nelson Mandela, President Vaclav Havel, President Oscar Arias Sánchez, President Shimon Peres, and other world leaders met in Hiroshima, Japan along with scientists, physicians, Nobel Laureates, and business leaders. They came together in order to discuss a way forward in creating hope for society. They knew that the more wars are waged, the fiercer the battles, the greater the destruction and loss of human life. They did not want to see hope for the future snuffed out.
To all the faithful, my prayers and best wishes for a Blessed Christmas filled with the joy and peace of the Lord’s coming among us. On each, I invoke God’s blessing.
In 1223, St. Francis of Assisi created the very first Nativity crèche in the town of Greccio, Italy. He staged the birth of Jesus, using people to play the role of the biblical characters. His novel idea not only excited the imagination of believers, but it also inspired them and increased their devotion in celebrating Christmas. Within a few years, Pope Nicholas IV (the first Franciscan Pope) commissioned a permanent Nativity crèche to be set up in Rome in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. Within a hundred years, every church in Italy had its own crèche.