Christmas Eve at the Vatican

( 24 Dec 2005 RV) It’s Christmas eve at the Vatican, and preparations for the vigil mass in St Peter’s basillica are at an end. At midnight Rome time Pope Benedict XVI will celebrate his first christmas as St Peter’s successor, in the presence of the roman curia. The celebration will be televised live to 46 countries and followed by tens of millions of people on television and radio. This afternoon the Holy Father unveiled the life size nativity scene in St Peter’s square. The simple replica of the stable where Christ was born stands alongside a 30-metre-high Christmas tree which this year was a gift of Austria. Thousands of pilgrims from around the world have flocked to St Peters, where large screens have been installed across the square for those unable to find seats in the basillica. Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Blessed Sacraments, will be among the members of the roman curia participating in this evening’s celebrations. He spoke to us earlier of how he will spend christams here at the vatican.