SW News: The fifth edition of the International Exhibition of 100 Cribs in the Vatican, which brings together nativity scenes created by artists worldwide, will commence on December 8. The exhibition will be held in St Peter's Square beneath Bernini's Colonnade on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.

This year, 120 nativity scenes will be exhibited and they are from various European countries such as Ukraine, Hungary, Malta, Slovenia, Slovakia, Croatia, Taiwan, Venezuela, and Guatemala. One main attraction of the exhibition will be a crib made in Ukraine by Teodosia Polotniuk from the Donetsk exarchate of the Greek Catholic Church. There will also be mangers that illustrate the climate catastrophe and the tragedy of migration in the Mediterranean Sea.

The public can view the exhibits through January 8, the day of Jesus' baptism. The exhibition will be open from 10 am to 7 pm local time. Reservations are not necessary, and admissions are free.

The Vatican announced that Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery of New Evangelization, will preside over the inaugural ceremony of the expo. The exhibition came under the authority of the Dicastery of Evangelization in 2018. These cribs represent the creativity and ingenuity of the artists who create them using various materials, including clay, newspaper, cloth, cork, and wood. This extraordinary scenery places the several Cribs, genuine pieces of art, in a setting that inspires the visitor to marvel at the classic scene of the Nativity of Jesus even more.

A representation of the Ukrainian Embassy to the Holy See will be present, with some community members who will enliven the event with traditional Ukrainian Christmas songs. The musical band of the Gendarmerie Corps of the Vatican City State will also come to the inauguration, which will accompany the event with some official songs.

The international art show comprising a wide range of Nativity scenes known as "100 Cribs" has been held in Rome for 47 years. To save an Italian tradition that was in danger of being replaced by the non-Italian Christmas tree culture, Manlio Menaglia founded the display in 1976 in Rome's Piazza del Popolo neighborhood.