Chicagoland

Pastor’s large Nativity scene enriches Christmas experience

By Chicago Catholic staff
Wednesday, December 11, 2024

Pastor’s large Nativity scene enriches Christmas experience

For the past 10 years, Father David Arcilla, pastor of Mary, Mother of Martyrs Parish in Des Plaines, has been bringing joy to parishioners of all ages with the large Nativity scene display that he sets up in the vestibule each year in Advent. It is a labor of love for the Columbian native and one he started as a child. (Javier Garcia/Archdiocese of Chicago)
Father David Arcilla, pastor of Mary, Mother of Martyrs Parish in Des Plaines, stands next to his large Nativity display in the vestibule of St. Mary Church, 794 Pearson St., Des Plaines, on Nov. 21, 2024. (Javier Garcia/Archdiocese of Chicago)
The Nativity scene displayed in the church vestibule. (Javier Garcia/Archdiocese of Chicago)
An scene in the Nativity. (Javier Garcia/Archdiocese of Chicago)
An scene in the Nativity. (Javier Garcia/Archdiocese of Chicago)

For the past 10 years, Father David Arcilla, pastor of Mary, Mother of Martyrs Parish in Des Plaines, has been bringing joy to parishioners of all ages with the large Nativity scene display that he sets up in the vestibule each year in Advent.

It is a labor of love for the Columbian native and one he started as a child.

“From a very young age I liked to do it at home,” Arcilla said. “I fought to do it. Since I was a child I remember looking for materials, mentally I was working to see how I did it and how I organized it.”

Today, he has over 200 portals or scenes that he’s collected and combined into a large village scene that is on display in the vestibule of the St. Mary Church worship site.

Setting up the Nativity scene is an exercise in prayer, Arcilla said.

“Making it is not like a job for me, it is like a prayer, that is, I turn it into a prayer,” he said. “I put on music in the background — Christmas carols are beautiful — so it becomes like a way of praying. It’s not a job, so it would be hard to count how long it takes in total.”

His artistic background has led him to build many of the scenes himself. He says his mind is always thinking about how to add to and improve the scenes. This year, for example, he added waterfalls.

The large Nativity scene also brings joy to his parishioners, Arcilla said.

“I think that many feelings are awakened in people,” he said. “They remember their childhood, they remember the experience of joy, of simplicity. The joy of seeing themselves reflected in one way or another in some characters. The children are happy looking at them.”

The Nativity scene is on display at St. Mary Church, 794 Pearson St., Des Plaines, through the feast of the Baptism of Our Lord on Jan. 12. Call 847-824-2026 for information.

Topics:

  • nativity

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