Cupich Unveils Daley Plaza Nativity Saturday

by Erin Gallagher

The public is invited to the 30th anniversary of the nativity unveiling in Daley Plaza, featuring Archbishop Blase Cupich Saturday.

It will be held from 9:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. at 50 West Washington Street, Chicago, according to a press release.

The archbishop will speak at 11 a.m., and children will bring baby Jesus to the manger. Other speakers starting at 9:45 a.m. include Tom Brejcha, president of the Thomas More Society and Pastor Larry Rogers of the Israel Methodist Church.

Christmas carols will be led by Saint George’s Catholic Church in Tinley Park at 10:30 a.m.

Here is information about the nativity scene history, provided by the Thomas More Society:

This year, the Thomas More Society and Daley Plaza Nativity Scene Committee celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Nativity Scene in Chicago’s Daley Plaza. This Christmas display represents classic free speech and free exercise of faith by private citizens in the public square. The manger scene depicting the baby Jesus has been part of Chicago’s holiday tradition for three decade, but its appearance at Daley Plaza was not without controversy.

Thirty years ago, city and county officials nearly shut down the Daley Plaza Nativity Scene, silencing Christians’ expression of their faith in that traditional public forum. Protection of the Nativity Scene came in the form of a lawsuit, which spared the manger scene statues from physical destruction. Late Chief U.S. District Judge James B. Parsons prohibited the local authorities from discriminating against religious expression on Daley Plaza, a regular venue for political rallies.

“The First Amendment protects religious speech, equally as political speech,” said Tom Brejcha, President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Society. “If you can get up on your soapbox and plead for a candidate or a point of view in a public forum such as Daley Plaza, then you may likewise get on the soapbox to proclaim the joyous, hopeful message of the Christ Child!”

“Government is neither censor nor endorser of such religious speech,” added Brejcha. “The Daley Plaza nativity display is privately funded and sponsored, bereft of any government aid or endorsement, and therefore it is clothed and armored with the full protection of the First Amendment of our U.S. Constitution.”

Thomas More Society provides legal counsel for the Daley Plaza Nativity Scene Committee and its organizers, Jim Finnegan, Terry Hodges, and Ed O’Malley, and the American Nativity Scene Committee. They have helped place Nativity Scenes in public places in twenty-one states. This year, the Thomas More Society is co-sponsoring crèches at the State Capitol building in Illinois, Florida, Georgia, Rhode Island, and Texas.

“We are very pleased to be celebrating the thirtieth year of the nativity scene in Daley Plaza,” said Finnegan. “We are especially grateful that Chicago’s new Archbishop, Blase Cupich, is joining us. A joyous Christmas to all!”

A detailed history of the Chicago Nativity Scene is available here.