The head of the Latin Christians in the Holy Land drove from the old city of Jerusalem in a car convoy over the Israeli checkpoint to the birthplace of Jesus, which is almost ten kilometers away, where he will preside over the midnight mass in St. Catherine’s Church.
In winter weather, around 25 boy scout groups with drums, bagpipes and other wind instruments had gathered in the alleys of Bethlehem’s old town to receive the patriarch, as reported by Kathpress and other Catholic news agencies. As in the previous year, Pizzaballa moved through a line of scouts and mostly local visitors on foot through “Star Street” to the crib square. Because of the pandemic-related Israeli entry ban for foreign visitors, significantly fewer people lined the train route through the old town this year.
The Pizzaballa was received by Bethlehem’s Mayor Anton Salman and other political and church representatives on the Krippenplatz. To celebrate Vespers, they moved to the Catholic Church of St. Catherine next to the Basilica of the Nativity, which was built under Emperor Constantine over the grotto, traditionally regarded as the birthplace of Christ.
According to the Franciscan Order, midnight mass in the Katharinenkirche will take place again this year with the participation of the faithful. Christians from all parts of Palestine and Israel are expected. Pizzaballa will place a figure of the baby Jesus on the spot where the birth of Christ is venerated in a traditional rite during Christmas mass.
Source: Nachrichten
