Bethlehem (Palestinian Territories) (AFP)
A first fragment of the cradle of Jesus, arrived in Jerusalem after more than 1,300 years in Europe, was transferred Saturday with great fanfare to Bethlehem, a Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank and birthplace of Jesus, according to Christian tradition.
Palestinian Scouts in Bethlehem have received the relic, officially transferred from the Vatican to the Custody of the Holy Land, to the sound of bagpipes, an AFP journalist said.
A procession of several hundred faithful accompanied the relic to St. Catherine's Church, which adjoins the Basilica of the Nativity.
The custodian of the Holy Land, Francesco Patton, waved the fragment, presented by the Church as part of the original cradle of Christ, on the Place de la Mangeoire before celebrating Mass in St. Catherine's Church, in front of more than a hundred people.
"This is important because it is a part of the wooden structure of the original nursery of Bethlehem, this wooden structure had left the Holy Land around the year 640", he explained Friday at AFP after the arrival of the relic in Jerusalem.
At that time, "the pope in Rome was Theodore, and he had Palestinian roots," he added. About 1,379 years later, the fragment must remain in Bethlehem "forever," he said.
The city of Bethlehem has planned celebrations to extend until Christmas for the return of the fragment of about one centimeter wide and 2.5 centimeters long.
During a visit to the Vatican in December 2018 to discuss the peace process in the Middle East, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas asked Pope Francis to allow the return of the cradle of Christ to Bethlehem, a Palestinian city located in a few kilometers from Jerusalem, in the occupied West Bank by Israel.
© 2019 AFP