Saturday, December 11th, 2021
'O Holy Night'
Collection of Nativities in Maria Stein
By William Kincaid
Photo by Leslie Gartrell/The Daily Standard
A Nativity from New Mexico on display at the Maria Stein Shrine of the Holy Relics depicts Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus and livestock singing a song of praise. The Nativity is made of terracotta and comes from the collection of Tim and Katheleen Nealeigh, who donated more than 80 Nativities from around the world.
MARIA STEIN - More than 80 Nativity sets embodying multiple cultures, perspectives, time periods and artistic forms are on display through Jan. 9 at the Maria Stein Shrine of the Holy Relics.
Though the sets vary in size, shape, color and ethnicity - and in some cases, species - they all share an important commonality - a loving depiction of the birth of Jesus Christ, the real reason for the Christmas season, said Shrine officials.
"It's really important from an educational standpoint because so many of the Nativities come from different cultures. It's a beautiful way for us to look at how different cultures view the birth of our savior, the birth of Christ," said Susie Bergman, the Shrine's marketing director. "Even though we all see or may view it a little bit differently, we all come back to, 'What is the most important thing at Christmas?'"
The different representations underscore the fact that Christ transcends time and culture, beckoning each of us to engage with him, said Matthew Hess, the shrine's director of ministry and hospitality.
"I would hope that (visitors) would leave knowing that Jesus is for everyone, that Christ came for all - and that's really the message of the Epiphany, right?" Hess pointed out. "You've got kings from three different areas coming, three different ages, and we see that with these Nativities on a much larger scale."
Hess, the curator of the exhibit, took a moment to highlight some of the more visually striking Nativity sets now on display.
"There's beautiful clay and terracotta Peruvian Nativities that are out this year. There's a Japanese one that kind of dates probably to the 1950s. It's an interesting blend of East and West there," he said. "We have some American artists that have done African and Southwest style Nativities there, too."
He also pointed to a Florentine Nativity set that he said has a very distinctive, Italian, baroque look, and an American porcelain Nativity set that is decidedly from the '60s.
"It's interesting not only to see all these different cultures but then to see them together and to kind of appreciate what each one brings to the manger," Hess commented. "The last three years that I've been able to set it up, I really enjoyed the mix, not just sticking with one culture but getting to experience a sort of worldwide Christmas."
The annual exhibit is major draw at the shrine, one of the largest, documented Holy Relic Collections in the country.
"We do have families that come from very far distances. We see families from Columbus and from the Toledo area and Fort Wayne, Indiana," Bergman said. "They love to come to the shrine during the holidays and then that's one of the highlights, to see the Nativity collection that's on display."
Children and adults alike enjoy the Nativities.
"Just last weekend we hosted our annual St. Nicholas event for children. The adoration chapel was filled with 100 children and their guardians or parents," she said. "Throughout the week we see all ages come through and everyone's always just amazed."
The collection comes from Tim and Katheleen Nealeigh of Greenville. For many years, Tim Nealeigh set up the display himself in the shrine. He handed it over to the shrine in the summer of 2019, according to Bergman.
"Over the last 40 to 50 years, he had been collecting Nativities and had acquired quite a large set - I do believe it's over 1,000 - that were in his home and in storage in Greenville," she said. "Once he and his wife decided to downsize their home, he donated a very large percentage of that collection to the shrine, which we now care for."
Hess touched on the origin of Tim Nealeigh's collection.
"I know the first one that he purchased he saw in a shop window and just wanted to decorate his home," he said.
The collection expanded greatly with the advent of Ebay, which allowed him to acquire sets on a world stage, Hess said.
"He was just in last weekend and loved seeing the children, especially, pick out their favorite ones," he said. "It makes him very happy that the tradition has continued."
Each year since the collection came under the care of the shrine, Hess has unboxed a bevy of Nativity sets. This year he opened the last of the boxes, the contents of which are now on display.
"It's like a two day Christmas getting to open them up," he said. "He never knows what he's going to uncrate, pointing out that Tim Nealeigh had commissioned several artists to create for him Nativity sets in their own distinguishing styles. For instance, one artist applied his method, creating a Nativity set made from leaves, Hess said.
"There are pieces in our collection that other collections wouldn't have no matter how large they are," Hess said.
The free exhibit is housed in the gathering space on the first floor of the shrine located at 2291 St. John's Rd. in Maria Stein. It is open to the public during normal Shrine hours of operation - 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.
The shrine will be closed Dec. 24-27 for Christmas and Dec. 31-Jan. 3 for New Years. For more event information, visit mariasteinshrine.org.
Photo by Leslie Gartrell/The Daily Standard
A Nativity from Cameroon is on display at the Maria Stein Shrine of the Holy Relics. The Nativity is made of cast brass and comes from the collection of Tim and Katheleen Nealeigh, who donated more than 80 Nativities from around the world.
Photo by Leslie Gartrell/The Daily Standard
A Nativity from Israel is on display at the Maria Stein Shrine of the Holy Relics. The Nativity is made of mother-of-pearl and comes from the collection of Tim and Katheleen Nealeigh, who donated more than 80 Nativities from around the world.
Photo by Leslie Gartrell/The Daily Standard
A Nativity from Japan is on display at the Maria Stein Shrine of the Holy Relics. The Nativity is made of clay and comes from the collection of Tim and Katheleen Nealeigh, who donated more than 80 Nativities from around the world.
Photo by Leslie Gartrell/The Daily Standard
This Nativity called "An African Celebration" is on display at the Maria Stein Shrine of the Holy Relics. The Nativity is made of terracotta and comes from the collection of Tim and Katheleen Nealeigh, who donated more than 80 Nativities from around the world.
Photo by Leslie Gartrell/The Daily Standard
A Nativity from Thailand is on display at the Maria Stein Shrine of the Holy Relics. The Nativity is made of cloth and comes from the collection of Tim and Katheleen Nealeigh, who donated more than 80 Nativities from around the world.
