Pope reminds holiday revelers that Jesus also was a ‘migrant’

VATICAN CITY — As Pope Francis officially opened this year’s Christmas Nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square, he said Jesus was a “migrant” who reminds us of the plight of today’s refugees.

Francis told donors who contributed both the Nativity set and an 82-foot tree that the story of Jesus’ birth echoes the “tragic reality of migrants on boats making their way toward Italy” from the Middle East and Africa today.

“The sad experience of these brothers and sisters recalls that of baby Jesus, who at the time of his birth could not find a place to stay when he was born in Bethlehem,” the pope said during a brief address. “He was then taken to Egypt to escape threats from Herod.”

The pope invited those who visit this Nativity scene to rediscover its “symbolic value,” which he called “a message of fraternity, of sharing, of welcome and solidarity.”

Francis also thanked the children who decorated the tree with the support of a foundation that organizes ceramic therapy workshops in Italian hospitals for chil- dren undergoing treatment for cancer and other illnesses.

The pontiff told them that “the multicolored ornaments you have created represent the values of life, love and peace that Christ’s Christmas proposes to us anew each year.”

The pope has spoken out in support of refugees many times and said there were many stories of migration in the Bible.