Celebrating 800 Years of the Crèche at The Michael McGivney Pilgrimage Center

You know what it is, you didn’t know there was a word for it. Now entering the world of the crèche, a symbol synonymous with Christmas as a stocking or an elf. A crèche is a three-dimensional nativity scene, a physical retelling of the biblical account of the birth of Jesus Christ. The crèches we’re talking about today are not the kitschy tabletop sets of Christmases past but rather full-fledged installations on view right now in Downtown New Haven.\

From now until March 24, 2024, the Blessed Michael McGivney Pilgrimage Center invites visitors and locals to stop in for the holidays and experience their current exhibit, “Celebrating 800 Years of the Crèche.” The center’s collection includes more than 50 crèches representing 18 countries across North and South America. Alongside the displays, the exhibit educates visitors on the holiday traditions practiced worldwide. 

In the Christian faith, the crèche or nativity scene is a seasonal display of individual sculptures depicting the nativity story. These displays can vary in their inclusions, some adding to the story’s human cast of characters, including sheep, shepherds, angels, a donkey, or an ox. The first-ever nativity scene was said to be created by Saint Francis of Assisi, but all of those details (and more) await you at the Michael McGivney Pilgrimage Center this winter. This exhibit walks visitors through those early storytelling origins to the innovative, artistic, large-scale crèches of today. Beaded crèches, clay crèches, and everything in between are on display at the center right now, a perfect festive activity to fold into the run-up to Christmas Day.

In addition to the collection of crèches, the center will exhibit “Christmas in the Americas,” a showcase of the holiday traditions native to communities across the Americas, until February 4, 2023.  The center was established in New Haven in November of 2020, honoring a New Haven priest who lived from 1852-1890 and is currently being considered for Catholic sainthood. 

Visit https://www.michaelmcgivneycenter.org to plan your visit, and consider stopping by for the center’s Christmas Time Family Day on December 28th from 11AM-3PM. There will be live holiday tunes, fun kids’ crafts, and tours of the festive exhibits. Register for the free event here!