VATICAN CITY, DEC 12, 1999 (VIS) - In what has become a traditional pre-Christmas event, Pope John Paul today blessed the statues of Baby Jesus, brought to St. Peter's Square by the children of Rome. The statues will then be placed in the nativity scenes set up in their homes.
The Pope said that "today's liturgy invites us to joy because 'the Lord is near'. His birth is very close, as is the Great Jubilee, which will be like spreading out through an entire year the feast of the mystery of the Incarnation, at a distance of 2,000 years of the coming of the Son of God in the humility of our human nature."
"One of the most popular expressions of the much-awaited joy of Christ is the preparation of the nativity scene within a family. In Christian homes," said the Pope before blessing the statues, "a special place is chosen to place the statues, leaving space between Mary and Joseph, for the Child Jesus. ... May Christmas, which is now imminent and is the start of the Great Jubilee, motivate you and all believers in every part of the world to prepare a worthy home to receive Jesus."
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