St. Mary Parish nativity scene contest engages congregants in spreading the Christmas message

Shoppers at Market Basket have been enjoying an elaborate nativity scene display by the supermarket’s front window. The scene is crafted from clay, wood, straw, dried plants, acorn caps, and charming dolls and animals. It depicts not only the familiar manger but an entire farm with outbuildings, corrals and pens for the farm animals. It shows one of the three wise men wending his way through the farm, followed by a googly-eyed sheep. 

This nativity scene is one of the entries in a contest established by St. Mary Parish two years ago. This year’s entry netted its creator, Grupo Agape, the first prize for creativity. Altogether, 25 businesses in Waltham agreed to put a nativity scene on display. 

Photographer David Rosen tracked down seven of them and shares his photographs in the slideshow below.

The Rev. Michael Nolan, pastor of St. Mary Parish, was inspired to start the contest after visiting Assisi, the birthplace of St. Francis, and reading Pope Francis’s 2019 Apostolic Letter on the meaning of the nativity scene. 

St. Francis of Assisi is credited with creating the first nativity scene in 1223, purportedly with live actors portraying the Holy Family inside a cave in Greccio. The idea spread throughout Italy and beyond, becoming an iconic tradition at Christmas time around the world. In Assisi itself, dozens of nativity scenes appear all over the town.

“I could see the impact it had on the town, so I thought we should try doing something with nativity scenes here,” Nolan told The Pilot, a Catholic newspaper, in 2022. 

St. Mary Parish offers Mass every Sunday in three languages: English, Spanish and Luganda (the most widely spoken language in Uganda). The nativity scene contest “is a way to emphasize the beauty of the individual cultures with one event,” Nolan told the Waltham Times. “It’s easily accepted by different cultures around the world.”

He continued, saying “The quality of craftsmanship, the creativity and the attention to the details of the Christmas account are amazing. All of the entries reflected great artistic talent and great devotion here in the parish.” 

Nolan added, “This year included the first entry from a Ugandan family. We’re really happy about that.”

The contest has three categories: creativity, craftsmanship and fidelity to the Bible. Around 40 groups entered this year’s contest. The top three entries in each category win a cash prize: $250 for first place, $100 for second and $50 for third. 

This year’s winners are

For creativity: Grupo Agape, Deysi and Vivian Gonzalez, and Isaac Flores.

For quality of craftsmanship: Kevin Gonzalez, Colin family, and Marianne Merola.

For fidelity to the Bible: Glenn MacNeil, Noe and the after-school program, and Serena of Our Ladies Academy.

The slideshow includes the winning nativity scenes along with photographs by David Rosen of the nativities on display at Waltham businesses. While browsing the images, enjoy David Rosen’s performance of holiday music by clicking on this audio player:

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