For Christmas 2025, the Vatican will install a pro-life nativity scene in the Paul VI Audience Hall, said to be the first-ever pro-life nativity scene here.
This display, where conferences and the weekly Papal Audiences are held will have a pro-life theme titled “Gaudium” (Latin for joy….the word appears in the titles of significant Catholic documents, such as “Gaudium et Spes” (Joy and Hope) and “Evangelii Gaudium” (The Joy of the Gospel).
The display will be 16 feet (five meters) long, almost 10 feet (three meters) deep, and 8.2 feet (2.5 meters) high.
It will feature a depiction of the Virgin Mary while she is pregnant. The scene will include 28,000 ribbons, which represent lives saved from abortion through prayer and pro-life efforts.
The display will also include traditional nativity figures such as Saint Joseph, the Three Wise Men, shepherds, and animals.
The pro-life nativity scene was designed by Costa Rican artist Paula Sáenz.
The creators plan to use an interchangeable figure, replacing the pregnant Mary with one adoring the Christ Child in a crib on Christmas Eve.
Note: there will be, as usual, a nativity scene in Saint Peter’s Square. The theme of the Nativity scene for the Jubilee Year 2025 is love, and it will depict scenes from daily life filled with affection and activity. The Nativity scene is expected to be unveiled around December 6, 2025, and will likely remain on display until January 12, Epiphany (the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord) marking the end of the Christmas season and a transition to Ordinary Time.