The Vatican reached out to an international pro-life organization to set up a Nativity scene representing babies saved from abortions by pro-life activism this year.

Shawn Carney, founder and CEO of the organization 40 Days for Life, told Fox News Digital the result is “really beautiful.” 

“The artist made the straw in the manger where Baby Jesus is and Mary, and Joseph,” he said. “The straw is made up of 25,000 ribbons. Each ribbon represents a baby boy or baby girl that was saved from abortion during a 40 Days for Life campaign.”

The display was created by Costa Rican artist Paula Sáenz Soto and donated by her country, according to the report. 

Pope Leo XIV, who was notably the leader of his college pro-life group while attending Villanova University, said at a recent audience with donors of the Vatican’s Christmas decorations that the Nativity scene is a sign of “faith and hope.” 

“[Each of the ribbons] represent a life saved from abortion thanks to the prayer and support provided by Catholic organizations to many mothers in need,” he said before blessing the display. Leo also thanked the artist for creating a display that affirms that ‘life is protected from conception,'” Fox News reported. 

Carney told the outlet the Nativity is “beautiful news,” especially amid a series of devastating events that have occurred around the world. 

“It’s so inspiring, and frankly, we’ve had a lot of bad news lately in America and around the world, and this display represents good news,” he said.

“[The artist] did a fantastic job making this beautiful display that really shows the dedication of so many pro-life volunteers around the world who take time out in the hopes of saving a baby,” he added. “And now those saved babies are represented in the most important place in the world, which is the Nativity, which is what we pin our hope to, that Jesus came through the womb, that he came through a family to save us from our sins.”

Carney added that the Nativity is at the heart of Christianity and the pro-life movement.

“This is why we do what we do. Our Lord could have popped out of an acorn and saved us from our sins. He didn’t do that. God chose a family, a holy family, a 14-year-old virgin, to bring his son into the world through the womb,” he said, “which is statistically now the most dangerous place in the world. He chose the womb, he chose a family, and the family is under attack.”

He continued:

So this is a beautiful nativity display, but I think it speaks to the heart of every Christian that looks for hope in the world, that looks for hope for us to overcome our own sins, and certainly hope that we can end the tragedy and the barbaric nature of abortion in our world. America is leading the way through that. We just had a historic year for the pro-life movement in 2025, and I think 2026 is going to be even better. This display certainly inspires so much hope and confidence that if we pray, if we fast, if we’re faithful and we get to work, we can end abortion anywhere.

The pro-life leader also said Pope Leo “is going to be a stronger voice than most people think” on the issue of abortion.

“I think he’s righting the ship. I think he’s speaking with a little bit more clarity than what we saw from Pope Francis,” he said. “Pope Leo has been very supportive of the pro-life movement. He’s certainly been very supportive of 40 Days for Life with this beautiful Nativity at the Vatican, so I’m very encouraged.”

Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.