A tiny wooden relic which some believe to come from Christ’s manger has arrived in Bethlehem ahead of Christmas.
The relic was first sent to the Vatican 1,400 years ago as a gift to the Pope.
It is now sheathed in an ornate case and was greeted by crowds in the West Bank ahead of Advent, which will begin on Sunday 1 December and end on Christmas Eve.
The chief custodian for the Holy Land, Francesco Patton holds the Relic of the Holy Crib of the Child Jesus, a gift from Pope Francis to the Custody of the Holy Land, during a procession to the church of St Saviour, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, 30 November 2019. The relic, a tiny piece of wood believed by Christians to have formed part of Jesus’ manger, was donated by St. Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem to Pope Theodore I (in 642-649 CE). EPA-EFE/ABED AL HASHLAMOUN A religious delegation brought the relic to the Franciscan Church of St Catherine, next to the Church of the Nativity – a holy site for Christians in the West Bank where tradition says Jesus was born.
See also: Photo Story: Relic of the Holy Crib of the Child Jesus in Jerusalem
Via Sky News
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