Greccio: Where Francis Built the Crib
Christmas 1223: a cave, an ox, a donkey and a village that saw Bethlehem with new eyes.
In 1223 Francis asked a friend in the hill town of Greccio to prepare a manger with hay, an ox and a donkey. He wanted, he said, to see with bodily eyes how the Child was born in poverty.
The night at Greccio
On Christmas night the friars and villagers came with candles and torches. Mass was celebrated over the manger, and Francis, a deacon, sang the Gospel and preached about the “Babe of Bethlehem” with great tenderness.
Our cribs today
Every crib in our homes and parishes, from the simplest clay figures to great village tableaux, continues what began at Greccio. The crib is not decoration; it is a sermon without words about a God who chose to be small.
For the family
This Advent, build your crib slowly, adding one figure each week, and pray together in front of it before the evening meal.
Sources and references
- Thomas of Celano, First Life of St. Francis — Chapter 30, on Greccio
