VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Leo XIV, during a ceremony unveiling the Vatican’s first-ever pro-life nativity scene Monday, expressed his gratitude to the artist for the display’s appeal for the protection of life from conception.
During the December 15 ceremony in the Paul VI Audience Hall, Pope Leo blessed the nativity scene entitled “Nacimiento Gaudium” (Joyful Birth) and praised its appeal to protect life from conception, as well as the support that Catholic organizations provide to mothers facing difficult circumstances.
The nativity, which was the first to be blessed by Pope Leo, was designed by Costa Rican sacred artist Paula Senoto with the help of 40 Days for Life and will depict the Blessed Virgin Mary as pregnant until Christmas Day to remind the public that Our Lord was already present in her womb before His birth. The creche also features 28,000 ribbons in place of the traditional straw, with each ribbon representing one of the babies saved through the prayers and witness of 40 Days for Life.
“I thank the Costa Rican artist who, along with the message of peace of Christmas, also wanted to make an appeal for protecting life from conception,” Pope Leo said during the ceremony. “The scene depicts a life saved from abortion thanks to prayer and the support provided by Catholic organizations to many mothers in difficult circumstances,” the pontiff added.
Pope Leo displays first ever PRO-LIFE nativity scene.https://t.co/WFRVInv2Up pic.twitter.com/Mi90by0qt2
— LifeSiteNews (@LifeSite) December 15, 2025
“This (nativity scene) has to be something that the whole world knows about. And I asked myself, ‘What place will this cry of babies to the world be heard the most? Well, the Vatican,’” Senoto recalled during a recent interview about the creche with 40 Days for Life.
READ: Vatican will display first-ever pro-life nativity scene this Christmas
Senoto’s nativity scene was initially approved by Pope Francis’ Vatican to be displayed in 2027 but was moved up to 2025 by Pope Leo’s Vatican just a few months ago. The sacred artist stressed to 40 Days for Life that she believes God unexpectedly accelerated the timeline for the nativity display because of acts of violence toward pro-life advocates as well as the increasing number of Catholics who have defended abortion – the murder of unborn children – over the past year.
“This year, several events have occurred, a lot of violence … the deaths of certain people who have defended life,” she said.
Here, Senoto appeared to be referring to the assassination of conservative influencer and staunch pro-life advocate Charlie Kirk.
“I have seen that many Catholics … have appeared in videos where they defend abortion,” she added. “So, I feel that (the pro-life message) is something that needs to be communicated very clearly, and we need to pray a lot and get down on our knees.”
READ: Italian bishops praise Nativity scenes without Christ as Pope Leo defends traditional customs
The nativity will remain on display through the Christmas season and for the closing of the Jubilee Year of Hope.
The “Nacimiento Gaudium” nativity is a major contrast to recent Vatican nativity displays, some of which have been blasphemous.
In 2017, the Vatican’s “Nativity of Mercy” featured a naked man and a corpse. The creche was graphic enough for a photo of it to be rejected by Facebook for being “sexually provocative.”
Another modernist Vatican nativity display in 2020 depicted figures that looked like astronauts or were altogether unrecognizable. The set was ridiculed by non-Catholics and dismayed many of the faithful. At the time, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò protested that the display was an “arrogant imposition of blasphemy and sacrilege as an anti-theophany of ugliness, the necessary attribute of the Evil One.”
