By CatholicPhilly Staff • Posted December 11, 2025

Seminarians and faculty at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary prepared the campus for Advent by constructing the annual outdoor Christmas crèche. The display, set this year in the courtyard of the Student Life Center, was built by Father Michael Isenberg, Dean of Men for the Theology Seminary, with assistance from seminarians.

Students in the College Propaedeutic Year joined Rector Father Christopher Redcay and Dean Father Mark Searles on a trip to Palmer Christmas Tree Farm in Mt. Bethel, Pa., to cut down trees for the scene. The completed crèche was blessed by Father Redcay in the presence of seminarians and priest faculty, marking the start of the seminary’s Advent observances. (Photos: St. Charles Borromeo Seminary)