On December 3, Vatican workers erected a giant Christmas tree in St. Peter’s Square.
The 110-foot fir tree, donated by Italy’s Trentino-Alto Adige region in
the Dolomite mountains, is decorated with more than 1,000 lights.
The
tree will be lit for the first time at a brief ceremony on December 17.
Since 1982, when Pope John Paul II established the practice of placing a
tree in St. Peter’s Square, the tree has been donated by a different
region of Europe each year.
Along with the giant tree for the Vatican
square, the donors also provide about 50 smaller trees that will
decorate the apostolic palace and the offices of the Roman Curia.
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