Tag: st peter’s

28th December 2016 Holy See

Stephen Townsend

Stephen Townsend

Deputy Head of Mission

The Nativity Scene in St Peter’s Square

At Christmas, Nativity scenes make their appearance in churches and homes across the world. In Italy there is a particularly strong tradition of presepio – some churches in Rome have exhibitions of historical and modern designs, and there are some streets on Naples which are full at this time of the year with thousands of […]

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8th January 2016

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by Nigel Baker

Ambassador to the Holy See (2011-2016)

History and healing: remembering the Stuarts

On 8 January, with the gracious permission of Her Majesty The Queen, I laid a wreath at the tomb in the crypt of St Peter’s Basilica of James Francis Edward Stuart, 250 years after his burial there. The message on the wreath was very simple: “In memoriam – James Francis Edward Stuart – ‘The Chevalier’ […]

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30th December 2015

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by Nigel Baker

Ambassador to the Holy See (2011-2016)

A Third World War?

Pope Francis has spoken frequently of his belief that the current state of instability in the world, overlain by the global threat of terrorism, is something akin to a “third world war fought piecemeal”. In his message for the World Day of Peace, he noted that, “sadly, war and terrorism, accompanied by kidnapping, ethnic or […]

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