Campus Ministry will host Neumann’s annual Greccio Live Nativity Celebration on Sunday, December 2. The program begins at 6:15 p.m. in front of the Mirenda Center for Sport, Spirituality and Character Development.

Students and faculty will re-enact the Franciscan tradition of the crib, first celebrated in Greccio, Italy, performing the Live Nativity scene and the scripture narration. In addition, the program will also feature the sounds of sacred Christmas music, performed by the Holy Family Regional School Children’s Choir.

Other celebrations are also scheduled for December 2. Mass is at 4:30 p.m. in Sacred Heart Chapel, and manger animals arrive at 5:30 p.m., available for petting until 7:30 p.m. After the Live Nativity program, students and neighbors are invited to enjoy traditional Christmas music and refreshments, and to meet Santa in the Devine Hospitality Suite of the Mirenda Center.

The Live Nativity was first staged in 1223 when a group of friars, organized by St. Francis of Assisi, led a singing throng of local residents to Greccio, a simple monastery in the heart of Italy. The villagers witnessed a primitive crib, surrounded by farm animals and peasants who re-enacted the birth of Christ. This ritual has been celebrated ever since that year, in Greccio and around the world.