Nativity scene is reminder of hope amid suffering, pope says

Meeting with delegations from Castelli in Italy’s Abruzzo region and from Kocevje, Slovenia — responsible, respectively, for the Nativity scene and Christmas tree in St. Peter’s Square — the pope said that Christmas “reminds us that Jesus is our peace, our joy, our strength, our comfort.”

From Slovenia to St. Stephen

Thirty-nine pilgrims from the parish of Polhov Gradec near the capital city of Ljubljana, Slovenia, traveled to the United States to follow in the footsteps of their Slovenian ancestors, including Father Francis Xavier Pierz, former St. Cloud Bishop James Trobec and Bishop Frederic Baraga, all Slovenian missionaries to the United States.