Christmas 2011: Let there be light

As the great bells of St. Peter’s basilica rang the hour and the December sun set behind Michelangelo’s dome, from beneath the Arch of the Bells, one by one they emerged; the pilgrims of Ukraine, Greek Catholic, Latin and Orthodox to light their Christmas tree in the heart of St Peter’s Square.

Adorned in their national colours, singing seasonal hymns and carrying Christmas stars they processed toward the tree that they have gifted to Pope Benedict, where it was positioned earlier this month, beneath the central obelisk. The tree, a spruce from the remote Carpathian mountains, is 30.5 metres high and decorated with 2,500 silver- and gold-coloured baubles.

There the President of the Governatorate of Vatican City State, Archbishop Giuseppe Bertello, welcomed the leaders of the Church in Ukraine: His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Halyc; Archbishop Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki of Lviv of the Latins, and Bishop Milan Sasik C.M. of the eparchy of Mukachevo of the Byzantine rite, as well as members of the Orthodox Church led by the Archbishop of Poltava and Myrhorod.

Earlier Friday morning receiving the delegation Pope Benedict had said this Christmas tree, is "a significant symbol of Christ's Nativity because, with its evergreen boughs, it reminds us of enduring life”.

Over the centuries – he continued Ukraine has been “a crossroads of different cultures, a meeting point for the spiritual richness of East and West. By tenaciously adhering to the values of the faith, may it continue to respond to this unique vocation".

Then as dark descended on the Vatican and curious visitors gathered beneath its boughs, drawn by the folk songs and dance of the Ukrainian children, Archbishop Bertello was joined on the platform beneath the towering 60-year-old spruce by a small boy, who with obvious pride, pressed the button, bringing hundreds of lights flickering to life in the night sky and officially launching the countdown to Christmas here at the Vatican. Listen :