It was December in the year 1223. Francis, then a Friar and Deacon, had sought permission from Pope Honorius III to stage a living Nativity in celebration of Christmas Mass. He chose the hillside town of Greccio, about 50 miles north of Rome, to reenact the birth of our Saviour. He had asked his dear friend, Giovanni Velita, Lord of Greccio, to gather animals, straw and a manger in a cave just outside of town.
St. Francis’ Christmas Mass has been retold and reenacted annually in Greccio for 8 centuries.
As a custom design for a client, the Sanctuario di Greccio re-tells the story of that Christmas Night, 800 years ago. Having had the opportunity to visit Greccio in 2023, I can say without any question that St. Francis’ cave in Greccio is by far the most spiritual place that I have ever been. The scene, reminiscent of the Nativity in St. Peter’s Square in 2023, shows St. Francis at the Manger with a priest, another friar, and a peasant man and woman, along with an ox and donkey. The figures were custom crafted by the exceptional artists at Original Heide of Val Gardena, Italy and the scene is complete with a rock found on the trails in Greccio on the hillside above the Monastery where St. Francis lived for a time.
