Christmas Eve at St. Francis Zoo
When a Nativity scene is set up in St. Francis Zoo, the animals go rogue.
A live Nativity scene was set up on Christmas Eve in St. Francis Zoo.
Real people played Joseph, Mary, the shepherds, and the magi. Of course, there was a real Baby Jesus. Sheep, cows, goats, donkeys, and camels—all from the zoo—mixed with the human actors.
After Christmas Eve Mass at nearby St. Francis Church, the people walked over to the zoo—caroling all the way—to see the live Nativity scene. They gathered around the manger and sang a beautiful rendition of Silent Night.
Suddenly, there were loud noises from throughout the zoo. The night was anything but silent. The people looked at each other, but kept singing. Then, monkeys were spotted high in the trees looking down on the manger. The people kept singing and moved onto Hark! The Herald Angels Sing while howling wolves seemed to join in on the chorus from a distance. Suddenly, reindeer and moose appeared behind the group of people.
The people were fearful, but instinctively knew that they needed to keep singing. The reindeer and moose moved closer to the manger and the people cleared a path, while birds of many kinds circled overhead.
Elephants lumbered their way toward the people as they next sang Away in a Manger. The people made a big path as the curious giants swayed closer to the manger.
They then began O Holy Night as a large lion appeared and made its way close to the manger—right next to the sheep, in fact, where it laid down.
The people knew they were in the midst of a miracle with all the animals staying calm and peaceful, but they didn’t know how long it was going to last. So, without missing a beat, they all began processing toward the zoo exit. Mary with the Baby Jesus, Joseph, the shepherds, and the magi joined the procession as they continued to sing out carols.
The zookeepers and animal trainers arrived and encouraged the people to keep singing beautiful, soothing music. Once all the singers and Nativity set actors were safely outside the walls of the zoo, they stayed there and continued singing every Christmas carol they knew while the zookeepers carefully did their work.
Somehow, this concert helped the zookeepers guide the wild animals peacefully back to their places without incident.
“We knew we were in the midst of great danger, but we also knew that we were experiencing something extraordinary that we needed to trust in,” one caroler said.
“I would not ever try this again,” another caroler added. “But for those few moments, God was definitely in our midst.”
“A Peaceful Kingdom is possible,” added another caroler, “and we were offered a glimpse of that.”
No one ever figured out how all the animals escaped their enclosures on that miraculous Christmas Eve.