Pope Francis made a plea for peace while unveiling a nativity featuring baby Jesus nestled in a keffiyeh in Vatican City on Saturday.
The pontiff declared “Enough wars, enough violence!” while receiving a delegation of representatives from the Palestinian groups that organized the project by Bethlehem-based artists Johny Andonia and Faten Nastas Mitwasi, Vatican News reported.
Part of a series of scenes from a collection titled “Nativity of Bethlehem 2024,” the biblical tableau shows figures of the holy family carved from olive wood while baby Jesus lies atop a keffiyeh, a style of scarf worn across the Middle East which has become a symbol of Palestinians’ resistance to the ongoing occupation by Israel.
Above the family is a panel of glass inscribed with, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill to all people” in Latin and Arabic.
At the event, the pope went on to tell his audience to “remember the brothers and sisters, who, right there [in Bethlehem] and in other parts of the world, are suffering from the tragedy of war,” according to the Times of Israel.
Following the nativity’s dedication, the New Arab reported that a mass for peace and a ceasefire in the region took place at the Angeli Chapel.
Pope Francis has previously called the public to support a ceasefire between Palestine and Israel as well as the safe release of hostages taken in the Oct. 7 attacks.
The head of the Holy See directly questioned Israel’s aggressive military response in interviews from a new book published last month, in which he calls for an investigation into whether Israel’s actions in Palestine “fits into the technical definition” of genocide.
