On Friday, Dec 9, The Diocese of Brooklyn, with the assistance of the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, will be putting up a 25-foot Christmas tree and installing a life-sized, hand-painted nativity at the Grand Army Plaza arch in Brooklyn.

On Tuesday, December 20 at 5:30pm, Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio, Bishop of Brooklyn, will bless the crèche during an interfaith ceremony.  Bishop DiMarzio said, “This nativity serves as a reminder that the Lord Jesus enters into the poverty of our human situation and transforms it into something noble and beautiful.” The event will also include a performance by Charlie Poveromo and caroling by students from a Catholic school.

The tree and nativity’s placement is made possible by DeSales Media Group, the communications, and technology arm of the Diocese of Brooklyn, the eighth largest diocese in the United States and the only entirely urban diocese in the nation, serving the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens.