Our Lady of Mercy Blesses New Creche

The parish and school community at Our Lady of Mercy in East Greenwich gathered for the blessing of a new crèche in Mercy Park on Monday.

Father Bernard Healey, Pastor, along with the school community, took part in the blessing with readings, hymns and special blessing.

Father Healey realized in 2012 that the church did not have a Crèche on display in front of the church while driving around the streets and neighborhoods of the parish, admiring Christmas lights and decorations.

While some of the displays were “quite spectacular,” he wrote in a Jan. 5 “Mercy Musings” column in the church’s weekly newsletter, “I soon discovered that noticeably absent from many houses was a crèche on the front lawn.”

“I did see Santa and his reindeer including several versions of Rudolph but not too many Holy Families!”

The Father thought about how many families do have a crèche inside their homes as part of their holiday decorations, “shouldn’t it be front and center when we decorate our homes both inside and outside?”

It was then it occurred to him that they didn’t have a crèche outside at Our Lady of Mercy.

“So I quickly ordered an outdoor nativity set from Tally’s the day after Christmas!”

The Father pledged that the following year — now this year — the new crèche would be front and center.