VATICAN CITY — The Vatican has happily accepted a ­donated nativity scene for St. Peter’s Square this Christmas after a previous setup costing $717,000 was exposed by the embarrassing scandal over leaked Vatican documents.

Monsignor Giuseppe Sciacca, the number two administrator of the Vatican city state, told reporters Thursday that the Vatican will pay for labor and costs to mount the scene that will be unveiled Dec. 24, hours before Pope Benedict XVI celebrates midnight Mass. The Italian region of Basilicata, one of Italy’s poorest, provided the scene after getting donations.