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In 1223, St. Francis asked the permission
of Pope Honorius III for a special observance of Christmas that he had in mind. Francis
apparently asked permission because he was familiar with Pope Innocent III's letter
expressing displeasure with religious dramas. Having received the Pope's consent, Francis
held his observance on Christmas Eve, 1223, in Greccio, a village about midway between
Rome and Assisi. The word ''creche'' is probably a French derivative of Greccio
(pronounced Grecho). Saint Francis got a manger, a live cow and donkey, and a wooden or
plaster image of the Infant Jesus (though a living child or simply an "imagined"
baby may have been used; the texts are not clear). Only five years later, in 1228, one of
Francis' biographers, Thomas of Celano, wrote:
It should be recorded and held in reverent memory what Blessed Francis did near the
town of Greccio, on the feast day of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, three years
before his glorious death. In that town lived a certain man by the name of John (Messer
Giovanni Velitta) who stood in high esteem, and whose life was even better than his
reputation. Blessed Francis loved him with a special affection because, being very noble
and much honored, he despised the nobility of the flesh and strove after the nobility of
the soul. Blessed Francis often saw this man. He now called him about two weeks before
Christmas and said to him: "If you desire that we should celebrate this year's
Christmas together at Greccio, go quickly and prepare what I tell you; for I want to enact
the memory of the infant who was born at Bethlehem, and how He was deprived of all the
comforts babies enjoy; how He was bedded in the manger on hay, between an ass and an ox.
For once I want to see all this with my own eyes. When that good and faithful man had
heard this, he departed quickly and prepared in the above-mentioned place everything that
the Saint had told him. The joyful day approached. The brethren (Franciscan friars] were
called from many communities. The men and women of the neighborhood, as best they could,
prepared candles and torches to brighten the night. Finally the Saint of God arrived,
found everything prepared, saw it and rejoiced. The crib was made ready, hay was brought,
the ox and ass were led to the spot.... Greccio became a new Bethlehem. The night was made
radiant like the day, filling men and animals with joy. The crowds drew near and rejoiced
in the novelty of the celebration. Their voices resounded from the woods, and the rocky
cliff echoed the jubilant outburst. As they sang in praise of God, the whole night rang
with exultation. The Saint of God stood before the crib, overcome with devotion and
wondrous joy. A solemn Mass was sung at the crib. The Saint, dressed in deacon's
vestments, for a deacon he was [out of humility, Saint Francis never became a priest,
remaining a deacon all his life], sang the Gospel. Then he preached a delightful sermon to
the people who stood around him.
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