Christmas Tree Lighting and Nativity Scene Inauguration in St. Peter's Square

The 2025 edition

The ceremony was held on Monday, December 15, 2025, at 5:00 PM in St. Peter's Square, presided over by Sister Raffaella Petrini, Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican City State, accompanied by Archbishop Emilio Nappa and lawyer Giuseppe Puglisi-Alibrandi, secretaries general of the same body.

The tree was a red fir 25 meters tall and weighing about 80 quintals, donated by the municipalities of Lagundo and Ultimo, in the province of Bolzano. The nativity scene, designed and created in the Diocese of Nocera Inferiore-Sarno, occupied a rectangular scene of 17 by 12 meters with a maximum height of 7.70 meters.

The evening opened with the Vatican Gendarmerie Band and the Pontifical Anthem; the diocesan choir of Nocera performed songs from the Neapolitan tradition, alternating with speeches by the South Tyrolean delegations, and the celebration closed with classic Christmas melodies. Representatives of thirteen municipalities of the Nocera diocese, the civil authorities of Lagundo and Ultimo, the bishops of the donor territories, and the vice-president of the Province of Bolzano were present.

In the Paul VI Audience Hall, the "Nacimiento Gaudium" Nativity by Costa Rican artist Paula Sáenz Soto was inaugurated, a gift from a delegation from Costa Rica. The tree and nativity scenes remained on display until the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Sunday, January 11, 2026.