Vatican receives PEFC-certified Christmas tree

A PEFC-certified Christmas tree, a 34m spruce from northern Italy, has been erected in St Peter’s Square, in the Vatican City.

It took a dozen labourers and heavy machinery to place the 94-year-old tree in position.

The tree, among the most photographed Christmas trees in the world, will be lit on December 17 in the presence of Pope Benedict XVI

A further 50 smaller spruces and firs have also arrived in Rome to decorate the Vatican museum. They were harvested close to the city of Brixen in South Tyrol, where Pope Benedict XVI’s mother was born and where the Pope enjoyed several summer holidays.