First Nativity Scene by St Bonaventure
Saint Bonaventure (1221-1274), a follower and contemporary of San Francisco, has given us a complete account of the night in which the first live manger was represented:
"It happened in the third year before his death, that in order to excite the inhabitants of Grecio to commemorate the nativity of the Infant Jesus with great devotion, [St. Francis] determined to keep it with all possible solemnity; and lest he should be accused of lightness or novelty, he asked and obtained the permission of the sovereign Pontiff. Then he prepared a manger, and brought hay, and an ox and an ass to the place appointed.
The brethren were summoned, the people ran together, the forest resounded with their voices, and that venerable night was made glorious by many and brilliant lights and sonorous psalms of praise."
Saint Bonaventure continues to speak of the personal devotion of Saint Francis of Assisi for the Child Jesus that caused this event:
The man of God [Saint Francis] stood before the manger, full of devotion and mercy, bathed in tears and radiant with joy; The Holy Gospel was sung by Francis. Then he preached to the people who had gathered around the nativity of the poor king; and unable to pronounce his name because of the tenderness of his love, he was called the baby of Bethlehem.
Saint Francis and the vision of the Infant Jesus
The first nativity scene is also associated with an appearance of the Infant Jesus that occurred to those reunited with San Francisco. This must have been the way in which Jesus gave his praise and blessing to the Nativity scene, which was a novelty in his time and which had never before been represented.
A certain brave and truthful soldier, Master Juan de Grecio, who, for Christ's sake, had left the war of this world and had become a dear friend of this holy man, said he saw a marvelously beautiful Child, sleeping in the manger, whom the blessed father Francisco embraced with both arms, as if waking him from sleep. This vision of the devout soldier is credible, not only for the holiness of the one who saw it, but for the miracles that later confirmed his truth; the hay of that manger, which was preserved by the people, miraculously cured all diseases of cattle and many other pests; God thus in all things glorifies his servant.
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