[Catholic Caucus] This Miracle on 66th Street Includes an Adorable Nativity Pageant

National Catholic Register ^ | December 21, 2025 | Jeffrey Bruno

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[Catholic Caucus] This Miracle on 66th Street Includes an Adorable Nativity Pageant

Dozens of children, a room full of gratitude, and the quiet heroism of the Sisters of Life turn a parish gym into Bethlehem and remind New York where Christmas really lives.

There’s no place on earth like New York City at Christmas.

The sidewalks in Herald Square feel like a slow-moving river of scarves and shopping bags. Rockefeller Center’s tree draws crowds who gaze with awe upon its lights. St. Patrick’s Cathedral gets dressed for the season with garland and wreaths, and there is also that familiar hush that somehow survives the roar of Fifth Avenue.

But if you wanted to find where Christmas really lives here, you’d find it nestled between the East River and Midtown’s skyscrapers in what might be the most sacred gymnasium in Manhattan for a few glorious hours at the Sisters of Life Christmas party and Nativity pageant.

The room was old, a little worn and brightly lit, until the pageant began. Then the lights went down, and for a moment the whole place paused. A hush. A ripple of anticipation.

And out in the darkness came the opening cue for a little drummer boy named Jose, weaving his way through the crowd, banging his drum loudly and proudly.

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But in the middle of the chaos and the joy, there’s an unspoken truth: Some of these children are alive today because of the Sisters of Life.

Mothers came to them afraid, uncertain, sometimes carrying stories too hard to bear. They were supported, loved, cared for — and they said Yes to the miracle of new life.

Their children are here today.

These miracles have faces.

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