EXCLUSIVE TO FOX: The head of an international pro-life organization has expressed admiration for the Vatican’s unique Nativity scene, which draws attention to over 25,000 infants saved from abortion this year through the group’s efforts.
In a conversation with Fox News Digital, Shawn Carney, CEO and founder of 40 Days for Life, shared that the Vatican approached his organization to collaborate on a Nativity display that symbolizes the lives they claim to have saved through their pro-life work, which involves prayer and peaceful vigils outside abortion clinics.
“It’s truly beautiful,” Carney remarked.
He explained, “The artist crafted the straw in the manger where Baby Jesus, Mary, and Joseph are represented. Each piece of straw is made from 25,000 ribbons, with each ribbon symbolizing a baby boy or girl saved from abortion during one of our 40 Days for Life campaigns.”
In a Nativity scene generously donated by Costa Rica, the Virgin Mary is depicted as pregnant, accompanied by Joseph and adorned with thousands of colorful ribbons, each representing a life preserved. This work of art comes from Costa Rican artist Paula Sáenz Soto and is displayed in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican.
Crafted by Costa Rican artist Paula Sáenz Soto and donated by the Central American country, it features a pregnant Virgin Mary, Joseph and thousands of colored ribbons dedicated to the babies who were not aborted.
Pope Leo XIV said at a recent audience with the donors of the Vatican’s Christmas decorations that a sign of life was reflected in the Nativity scene in the Vatican’s audience hall, which he described as a sign of “faith and hope.”
Each of the ribbons that decorate the scene “represent a life saved from abortion thanks to the prayer and support provided by Catholic organizations to many mothers in need,” said the pontiff, who personally blessed the display.
Leo also thanked the artist for the message affirming that “life is protected from conception.”
Carney said the Nativity was “inspiring” and “beautiful news,” particularly amid a series of recent bad news in the U.S. and 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 told Fox News Digital.
Pope Leo XIV prays in front of Nacimiento Gaudium, a nativity scene in which the Madonna is represented pregnant, at the Paul VI Hall in the Vatican. (40 Days for Life)
“It represents babies that have been saved from abortion, and the artist who is a participant in 40 Days for Life who is from Costa Rica, did a wonderful job. She 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. 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,” he continued.
“So it’s beautiful news, it’s good news, and I think it’s news that’s being well received as we’ve had so much bad news the last few weeks,” Carney added.
Carney went on to explain that the Nativity is “at the heart of Catholicism and all Christians, and certainly at the heart of the pro-life movement.”
“This is why we do what we do,” he said. “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, 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. 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,” he added. “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.”
Carney also stressed that the Nativity of a pregnant Mary with an unborn Jesus “speaks to the scientific reality of the unborn child and the Biblical reality that Our Lord came through the womb.”
Ribbons representing lives saved from abortion according to Catholic organizations are seen on Nacimiento Gaudium, a Nativity scene set in the Paul VI Hall during an audience led by Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican. (AP)
“The Nativity is one of the most depicted scenes in the history of the world, and it represents that great meeting between Heaven and earth, Christ coming into the world through a child nine months after the Annunciation,” he said. “So it’s absolutely beautiful. It puts emphasis on how we treat our unborn children with 72 million abortions around the world every year. It is by far the greatest moral crisis of our time, and we have to respond to that. We have to respond with great hope, and you don’t find a greater hope than Jesus coming into the world and being with us on Christmas Day.”
The pro-life leader also stated that the pope “is going to be a stronger voice than most people think” on the issue of abortion.
“I think he’s righting the ship,” Carney said. “I think he’s speaking with a little bit more clarity than what we saw from Pope Francis. 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.”
