Bethlehem Christmas celebrations kick off from Jerusalem

the annual procession led by the Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem Rev. Pierbattista Pizzaballa.

The car procession started at the Latin Patriarchate at Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City with a stopover at Mar Elias Monastery on the outskirts of Bethlehem before completing on its way to Manger Square and the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, the birth site of Jesus Christ, where it is supposed to arrive there in the early afternoon.

Midnight mass in the presence of President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, along with a long list of foreign and local guests, will be held at St. Catherine Church at the Nativity.

Pope Francis appointed Pierbattista Pizzaballa as Apostolic Administrator following the retirement of Patriarch Fouad Twal in June.

source: WAFA