VATICAN CITY, JAN 5, 2006 (VIS) - This afternoon Benedict XVI visited the nativity scene built by the street cleaners of Rome at their headquarters near the Vatican, and thanked them for their work in the area around St. Peter's Square. John Paul II visited the street cleaners' nativity scene every year from 1979 to 2002.
This nativity scene, as the Pope pointed out in his address, "is the most famous in Rome." First constructed in 1972, it contains 95 houses made of pumice stone as well as rivers, fountains, aqueducts, lights, recreations of Roman streets and around 200 figures. It is made with materials from all over the world, in particular from the colonnade of St. Peter's Square, Bethlehem and the Italian shrine of San Giovanni Rotondo.
"Contemplating these evangelical scenes," the Pope went on, "becomes an incentive to meditate on the central mystery of our salvation: God became man for us, and we can welcome Him in our hearts and experience the joy of His sanctifying presence. However, it is not enough to stand and watch, we must do more. Jesus must become the center of our lives. It is important that He be the guide of our daily journey and the ultimate and definitive goal of our earthly pilgrimage."
After wishing the street cleaners and their families a happy 2006, Benedict XVI concluded: "The Lord wants us to be vigilant and attentive, so that we do not allow ourselves to be deceived by the false appeal of ephemeral and passing values."
BXVI-VISIT/.../ROMAN STREET CLEANERS VIS 20060109 (270)
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