GRAND ARMY PLAZA — Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza looks even grander these days, thanks to the presence of a 25-foot-tall Christmas tree erected by the Diocese of Brooklyn. 

The tree, a Balsam fir, stands beneath the Soldiers and Sailors Arch and is adorned with 18,000 LED lights, including a glowing star at the top. At the foot of the tree is a nativity scene — a reminder that at the heart of the season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. 

Bishop Robert Brennan blessed the tree and the creche with holy water on Dec. 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.  

“There’s a little bit of excitement, you might say, that’s building in the liturgical calendar. And we’re starting to get the sense that Christmas is near,” he told The Tablet, adding that the Christmas season “reminds us that Christ did indeed come, that God does live among us.” 

Bishop Brennan called the tree and the creche “a gift of the Diocese of Brooklyn, of DeSales Media, to the people of the city.”  

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“It’s our hope, and it’s our desire that this tree and this display of the nativity will give other people hope as they pass by here and see the reason for our joy,” Bishop Brennan said. 

Justina Chabli, a parishioner of St. Augustine-St. Francis Xavier Church in Park Slope, said she felt a great deal of hope. 

“Honestly, I just love celebrating my faith … it’s just really magical,” she said. “It’s just a wonderful reminder of what our goal here is — to spread the word of Jesus.” 

Even non-Catholics marveled at the beauty of the scene.  

Nika Harvey, a Baptist who was walking past Grand Army Plaza, stopped for a few moments to gaze at the tree.  

“It’s gorgeous! What a nice thing to see,” she said. “It makes me feel so good to see it.”