Jane Henson and Her Puppet Nativity Ministry

"Jane Ann Nebel loved the Nativity scene beneath her parents' Christmas tree.

"As a young child in St. Albans, Queens, she often played with the ceramic figurines - cradling the Baby Jesus in her palm, carefully setting him in the manger, and then helping the humble shepherds and the stately Magi to move forward, step by step, to worship the newborn King.

Jane carried those happy childhood memories with her into adulthood, through her career as a puppeteer and artist who, alongside acclaimed puppeteer Jim Henson, helped to found "The Muppets." Jane worked with Henson for several years on The Muppets and other projects, eventually marrying him.

"As their family grew, Jane quit full-time puppeteering in the early '60s and devoted herself to raising their five children; then, later in life, her children grown, Jane experienced a renewed interest in her Catholic faith. She remembered the manger scene that had been such a strong influence in her childhood. She wondered: Could she create one more marionette show, one in which the familiar figures from the crèche would come to life, bringing the story of Jesus' birth to the world?"

A recent National Catholic Register article profiled Jane Henson and her puppeteer ministry, with special attention to her presentation of the Nativity.

To access the complete National Catholic Register report, please visit:

National Catholic Register: Puppet Nativity: Muppets Co-Creator Combined Faith, Culture in Creative Play (22 DEC 18)