The Pope might be speaking to 'the good poverty' because he sure wasn't speaking to us.

“In the nativity scene, everything speaks to the ‘good poverty,’ the evangelizing poverty that makes us blessed. By contemplating the Holy Family and the various characters, we are drawn to their disarming humility,” the pope said to the audience.

This year, a light will also illuminate the Holy Family in the bronze sculpture “Angels Unawares,” created by Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz, located just to the left when facing the facade of St. Peter’s Basilica. The large sculpture, representing the plight of immigrants and refugees, was added in September 2019 to commemorate the 105th World Day for Migrants and Refugees.

“This is a collaboration that reminds us how, even more this pandemic, we are all in need and waiting,” read the Vatican statement on the joint initiative.

“Never more than this year, are these symbols of hope for Romans and those pilgrims who will have a chance to come and admire them,” Pope Francis told a delegation representing the Abruzzo region and Slovenia at the Vatican Friday morning.

The creche, a tradition attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi, is made in ceramic using a style and aesthetic typical of Abruzzo. A high school class between the 1960’s and 70’s created the nativity scene and took greater artistic liberty in the representation of the Holy Family compared to most creches. The figures are shaped like pillars, distant and not interacting with one another, reminding some of today’s social-distancing norms.

Speaking at the event, Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, the president of the Governorate of the Vatican City State, said the creche is an artistic interpretation of “how the Gospel can love all cultures and professions.”

The original creche was presented in Rome, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and is made of 54 large statues, including a Jewish Rabbi, an astronaut and an executioner to represent the death penalty. Gone are the traditional starlit backdrops and grassy terrains in favor of a more modern look with only a neon light framing the scene.

“Christmas reminds us that Jesus is our peace, our joy, our strength, our comfort. But to welcome these gifts of grace we must make ourselves small, poor and humble like the characters in the nativity scene,” Pope Francis said.

“Even this Christmas, amid the suffering of the pandemic, Jesus, small and helpless, is the ‘sign’ that God gifts to the world,” he added.