At the beginning of autumn, on October 3, 2025, the Vatican chose to announce the origin of the fir tree and Nativity scene that will be installed this year in St. Peter's Square for the first Christmas of Pope Leo XIV's pontificate.
The Nativity will include representations of important spiritual figures from the region of Campania, along with other architectural and culinary references.
The tree will come from the Italian region of Trentino-Alto Adige — from the Ötztal Alps. The Nativity scene will be typical of the Campania region, near Naples.
A Nativity scene from Costa Rica will adorn Paul VI Hall.
At Christmas, the obelisk in St. Peter's Square will be flanked by a 27-meter-high red spruce from the autonomous province of Bolzano, or South Tyrol. Donated by the municipalities of Lagundo and Ultimo, the tree will travel nearly 435 miles to Rome. There, once decorated, it will be admired by tens of thousands of tourists.
Other fir trees from the same source will be brought to the Vatican to be displayed in the offices of the small state. Last year, the tree in St. Peter's Square, which also came from Trentino-Alto Adige, was at the center of a heated controversy. Environmental groups protested its removal and transfer, although in the end the plan went forward.
A Nativity scene from Salerno
The Vatican Nativity scene will be donated by the province of Salerno, in Campania, south of Naples (diocese of Nocera Inferiore-Sarno). The artwork will feature elements typical of the region. At the foot of the Baby Jesus, the figure of a shepherdess will offer him local products (artichokes, walnuts, Nocera onions, and local tomatoes – San Marzano, corbarino).
The Nativity scene will feature a courtyard house, typical of local dwellings, with a gray tuff gate. Inside this building, a figure will depict the Neapolitan saint Alphonse-Marie de Liguori seated at the harpsichord, singing his famous Christmas hymn Tu scendi dalle stelle (“You come down from the stars”). Next to him, a pendulum clock will remind us that the bishop recited a Hail Mary every hour.
Other spiritual figures from the region will also be represented, such as Father Enrico Smaldone (1914-1967), who devoted his life to street children, and the layman Alfonso Russo (1943-2013), who worked to alleviate the suffering of the sick.
Elements of regional culture and the Jubilee
The decor will also feature representations of architectural works from the region: the early Christian baptistery of Nocera Superiore with its 12 columns, and the ancient Roman fountain of Helvius in Sant'Egidio del Monte Albino. An image of Our Lady of the Three Crowns in Sarno will also be present, composed of flower petals according to the tradition known as “l'Infiorata.”
Other symbols will be incorporated into the scene. The Nativity scene will be dominated by a luminous comet with a tail in the shape of an anchor – Salerno being on the shores of the Tyrrhenian Sea. And a fisherman will point to the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica, open throughout the 2025 Jubilee, which will conclude on January 6, 2026.
The date of the inauguration of the Christmas tree and Nativity scene in St. Peter's Square is not yet known. This usually takes place around December 8. The Pope traditionally receives delegations from the display’s donors in an audience. Francis used to pay homage to the Nativity scene in St. Peter's on December 31, after Vespers on the last day of the year.
Costa Rica and the defense of life
As for the Nativity scene in the Paul VI Hall — where the pope holds his general audiences in winter — this year it will come from a Central American country, Costa Rica.
Costa Rican artist Paula Sáenz Soto intends this work to “launch an appeal to the world to protect life from the moment of conception,” according to the press release, which does not give further details about its structure.
