A naked man steals the show in the Vatican’s new nativity scene rendition

It seems that nudity is the innovative, new attention grabber in the Vatican’s newly-unveiled nativity scene rendition.

In an inauguration ceremony last December 7, the Vatican unveiled the official nativity scene in St. Peter’s square. The nativity scene features 20 terracotta (clay/ceramic-based) figures, some as tall as 6 feet. What is striking about the new nativity scene is that instead of the traditional rendition where the focus is simply on the baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph, this year’s version focuses more on the integration of the 7 “corporal works of mercy” into the scene.

The scene includes life-size figures of a naked man being “clothed”, a dead man being buried, and a prisoner being visited. The representation of the night of Jesus’ birth, Pope Francis said, is “inspired by the works of mercy” and is a reminder “that Jesus told us: ‘Do to others what you would have them do to you.’