Lithuania sends nano-nativity scene to Pope Francis as Christmas gift

VILNIUS - President Dalia Grybauskaite has sent the world's smallest nativity scene to Pope Francis as a unique Christmas gift created by Lithuanian scientists and students.

The pope will need a microscope to see the gift, which a 10,000 times reduced replica of the nativity scene on Vilnius' central Cathedral Square.  

The nano-scale nativity scene, which has already been registered with the Guinness World Records, is so tiny that the baby Jesus is smaller than a human cell, the president's press office said in a press release on Friday.

"I am proud that our scientists and students have created the world's smallest nativity scene. I am particularly happy that we can present such an interesting and innovative gift to Pope Francis, whom we expect in Lithuania next year," President Grybauskaite said.

The nativity scene was created by Vilnius Gediminas Technical University's creativity and innovation center Linkmenu Fabrikas together with scientists from the companies Femtika and 3D Ideja and in cooperation with the Vilnius Archdiocese, the capital's development agency Go Vilnius and the government's foreign investment promotion agency Invest Lithuania.