Pope: Nativity scenes should be in town squares, schools

GRECCIO (AP) — Pope Francis on Sunday hailed Nativity scenes as “simple and admirable” signs of Christian faith and encouraged their placement in workplaces, schools and town squares, as he bolstered a Christmas tradition that has at times triggered bitter legal battles in the United States.

Francis visited a hill town, Greccio, where St. Francis of Assisi, the pontiff’s namesake, re-enacted the first creche scene, using living persons instead of statues, likely in 1223, during a return journey from the Holy Land.

In Greccio, in the countryside outside Rome, Francis signed a document, known as an apostolic letter, stressing the importance of creche scenes to popular faith.