*A Nativity under the sea. Courtesy of St. Mary Parish.*

Amid two dozen nativity scenes crafted by the members of St. Mary Parish for its annual contest, one stood out for depicting the Holy Family and their worshippers as sea creatures, fashioned from neon-bright play clay. Many of the other nativity scenes also displayed the creative use of diverse materials, from beads and plastic aquarium plants to tiles and Jenga blocks.

The Rev. Michael Nolan, pastor of St. Mary Parish, started the contest in 2022 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.

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.”

This year, prizes were awarded in the following categories:

Creative use of materials