Manger scenes at Lyndora church tell the Christmas story through cultures
Two Saturdays remain to see The Relic Crusade’s Christmas manger pilgrimage at St. Michael Greek Ukrainian Catholic Church in Lyndora.
Every Saturday in December, the church hosts mangers belonging to the The Relic Crusade, along with its own manger and relics of the saints, for free public viewing from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The displays depict Christmas manger scenes from cultures around the world to showcase their unique styles and building materials and two non-religious manger scenes are displayed outside the sanctuary.
“Christmas is also about good will,” said David Rehm, a hermit of the church. “We miss that sometimes today.”
The Relic Crusade is a nonprofit organization that rescues, restores and preserves Catholic relics both from churches in war-torn countries and storage lockers where their significance is forgotten. It also restores Catholic art and donates to churches in need.
The displays come in a variety of materials and color schemes based on their country of origin, but their message is always the same. Rehm said many of the Spanish scenes were made using cloth, the Mexican were made from papier-mâché and one from Africa was made using banana leaves. Another manger was made from olivewood.
Another scene, where the manger was made from porcelain, had cotton strewn around it to look like winter, while others depicted a desert manger scene rooted in Arab tradition.
The displays also include two nonreligious mangers outside the sanctuary that were donated to the church. One depicts characters as farm animals and the other as gnomes.
Rehm said the nonreligious mangers help children to engage with the Christmas story before they can fully understand its significance. The mangers also included elements of scavenger hunts and “Easter eggs,” such as Bigfoot depicted on one of the scenes with nature that reminds viewers of Western Pennsylvania, Rehm said.
“When kids experience this, they get excited and they want to add to it,” he said.
The Ukrainian Catholic community was active in Butler County before the nation’s founding, Rehm said. He said the Ukrainian trappers who settled in French Canadian lands would trek to Butler County and stay for their Easter celebrations in 1771.
The church is located at 610 Hansen Avenue in Lyndora.
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A manger display at The Relic Crusade’s Christmas manger pilgrimage at St. Michael Greek Ukrainian Catholic Church in Lyndora on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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A mechanical moving manger display at The Relic Crusade’s Christmas manger pilgrimage at St. Michael Greek Ukrainian Catholic Church in Lyndora on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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A manger display at The Relic Crusade’s Christmas manger pilgrimage at St. Michael Greek Ukrainian Catholic Church in Lyndora on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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A manger display with a pizza chef at The Relic Crusade’s Christmas manger pilgrimage at St. Michael Greek Ukrainian Catholic Church in Lyndora on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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A manger display at The Relic Crusade’s Christmas manger pilgrimage at St. Michael Greek Ukrainian Catholic Church in Lyndora on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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A manger display at The Relic Crusade’s Christmas manger pilgrimage at St. Michael Greek Ukrainian Catholic Church in Lyndora on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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A manger display with bigfoot at The Relic Crusade’s Christmas manger pilgrimage at St. Michael Greek Ukrainian Catholic Church in Lyndora on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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A manger display made of banana peelings at The Relic Crusade’s Christmas manger pilgrimage at St. Michael Greek Ukrainian Catholic Church in Lyndora on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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A manger display of pigs at The Relic Crusade’s Christmas manger pilgrimage at St. Michael Greek Ukrainian Catholic Church in Lyndora on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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A manger display of gnomes at The Relic Crusade’s Christmas manger pilgrimage at St. Michael Greek Ukrainian Catholic Church in Lyndora on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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A manger display at The Relic Crusade’s Christmas manger pilgrimage at St. Michael Greek Ukrainian Catholic Church in Lyndora on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Archpriest Douglas, left, and Hermit David at The Relic Crusade’s Christmas manger pilgrimage at St. Michael Greek Ukrainian Catholic Church in Lyndora on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
