By Mother Ann Marie Zierke
Marian Sisters
Almost every Christian home is known to have some form of a Christmas crib or crèche. One would be hard-pressed to find a Catholic (or even Christian) Church without a Christmas scene including the infant Jesus, Mary, and Joseph (as well as an ox and donkey).
While there are scenes in the Roman catacombs of Mary holding the baby Jesus, the tradition of outdoor crèches can be traced to St. Francis of Assisi.
In 1223, in Greccio, Italy, St. Francis wanted to increase devotion to the incarnation of Jesus Christ. With the permission of the Holy Father Pope Honorius III, he prepared a manger with hay, a (live) ox, and a (live) donkey. When the faithful had been gathered, he chanted the Christmas Gospel and gave a beautiful homily about the “Babe of Bethlehem.”
St. Bonaventure, in his classic work The Life of Saint Francis of Assisi, relates that “a certain knight, valorous and true, Messer John of Greccio, … declared that he beheld a little Child right fair to see sleeping in that manger. Who seemed to be awakened from sleep when the blessed Father Francis embraced Him in both arms.” The infant Jesus appeared in St. Francis’ arms! With the memory of this event, we are invited to pause before the mystery of the Incarnation in order to contemplate the depth of God’s love for humanity. Jesus not only lived 2,000 years ago: He comes to us daily in the Eucharist.
The concrete way that Francis of Assisi celebrated the mystery of the Incarnation at Greccio, invites us to more fully realize “that we have been entrusted with a treasure which makes us more human and helps us to lead a new life. There is nothing more precious which we can give to others” (Evangelii Gaudium 264).
Sister Mary Kansier, one of our Marian Sisters, shared how her love of the Child Jesus and the Incarnation grew when she learned about the Franciscan origin of the manger: “Growing up, my family had an outdoor manger scene that lit up. Over the years, my family collected pieces, and by the time I was in high school, the entire front yard was filled – there were multiple sheep, a couple of donkeys, an ox, a camel, and several shepherds, in addition to the traditional wise men and holy family. A star was attached to the house and radiated gold beams coming down to the Child Jesus. The Christmas scene was always very important.
“When I first heard the story of St. Francis, I could easily picture His live nativity. Through meditation, I saw the love that God has for humanity in sending His Son, and the absolute poverty Jesus took on by becoming human. I’m so grateful for the Marian Sisters’ Franciscan heritage!”
In honor of the 800th anniversary of the Franciscan miracle at Greccio, the parishes of the Catholic Diocese of Lincoln are challenged to incorporate St. Francis into their parish Christmas scenes and explain the reason for the addition by way of a bulletin explanation, placard, or inclusion of the story into the Christmas homily.
A photo of St. Francis in the parish manger scene, with the town and name of the parish, can be sent to us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. After Dec. 15, the pictures collected can be located at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mariansisters/albums.
Editor's Note: image Templo de San Francisco, Morelia. Enrique López-Tamayo Biosca, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
