BETHLEHEM, West Bank — Thousands of Christian faithful from around the world converged Monday on Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas in the town where, according to the Biblical account, the Christian savior Jesus was born.
The Roman Catholic Church’s highest representative in the Holy Land, Archbishop Fouad Twal, arrived in the city in the afternoon, at the end of the traditional procession from Jerusalem.
The first part of the southbound procession was by motorcade. However, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem entered Bethlehem’s Manger Square on foot, accompanied by clergymen pounding their staffs on the cobblestones.
The square, outside the Church of the Nativity, had been packed since mid-morning with pilgrims, as musicians, including youth choirs, performed on a large outdoor stage.
The square also was adorned with a tall Christmas tree and a stable with life-size figures. Stores were open and filled with tourists. Some of the visitors wore Santa Claus costumes.
Some 15,000 pilgrims are in Bethlehem and hotels are fully booked, Palestinian Tourism Minister Roula Ma’aya said.
Many more are staying in Jerusalem, with the Israeli Tourism Ministry saying 75,000 tourists — including 25,000 Christian pilgrims — are visiting Israel this season.
At midnight, Twal will conduct mass in Saint Catherine Church, the Roman Catholic section of the Church of the Nativity, built by Constantine I, the first Christian Roman emperor, and the crusaders on the grotto believed to mark the site where Jesus was born.
An Arab Christian from Jordan, Twal, 72, will conduct the service mainly in Arabic.
Church bells sounded in the Christian Quarter of the walled, historic Old City of Jerusalem as the archbishop, in purple and black, emerged from the Latin Patriarchate to board the motorcade of some 40 vehicles that drove him slowly to Bethlehem accompanied by an Israeli police escort.
Although a Muslim, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas planned to arrive in Bethlehem from his Ramallah headquarters to attend the Mass — a precedent set by his predecessor Yasser Arafat.
Christian Palestinians once were a majority of more than 90 percent in Bethlehem, but they have become a minority. Many local onlookers during the celebrations are now Muslims.
Speaking from the Latin Patriarchate, Twal earlier delivered his annual Christmas message, saying Christians in the Arab world were a minority, but “more than just a number.”
Amid the recent Arab revolutions, they should “assume their historic role in their respective countries, with their values of non-violence” and engage in inter-religious dialogue.
“The joy of Christmas is overshadowed by the staggering violence in Syria. We are full of compassion for the victims and our church actively participates in receiving 250,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan,” he said.
He also mentioned the recent conflict in Gaza and welcomed last month’s U.N. General Assembly decision to upgrade Palestine’s status at the United Nations to that of a non-member observer state.
“Israel can now negotiate on equal state-to-state terms for the good of all,” he said, adding that “the second and last mandate of (President Barack) Obama must push him to immediate action in working for the two-State solution.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in his own Christmas message that: “Today, Christian communities throughout the Middle East are shrinking, and many of them are endangered.”
“Israel will continue to protect freedom of religion for all. And we will continue to safeguard places of Christian worship throughout our country,” he said.
