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Relic of Sacred Crib of Jesus returns to Bethlehem

  • Filippo De Grazia

Source: Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem

A fragment of what, according to tradition, is the Holy Crib of the infant Jesus, arrived in Jerusalem last Friday. Preserved for centuries at the Basilica of St Mary Major, this relic will remain permanently in Bethlehem, a gift from Pope Francis to the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land.

At the St Mary Major Basilica in Rome, there is a depiction of the Nativity carved by Arnolfo di Cambio at the end of the 13th century on the basis of a tradition dating from 432AD, when, in the then original Basilica, Pope Sixtus III had a 'cave of the Nativity' constructed on the model of the Bethlehem original. This earned the Roman Basilica the title of 'Santa Maria ad Praesepem'.

Not more than two centuries later, the then Patriarch of Jerusalem, St Sophronius, gave to Pope Theodore I (who would have been of Palestinian origin, according to some sources) what tradition indicated as the Holy Crib of the Infant Jesus. In Rome, it was placed in the Liberian Basilica (after Pope Liberius) of the St Mary Major Basilica, given the intimate connection that, for a long time now, united this Church to the birthplace of Our Lord. The presence of this venerated relic earned the basilica the title 'Bethlehem of Rome'.

Even today, St Mary Major preserves what remains of the Crib, protected in the golden casket of Reliquary Crypt. Towards the beginning of Advent, the casket was opened, on the instructions of Pope Francis, who ordered the extraction of a fragment to donate it to the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land. This took place last November 22 in Rome, during a rite presided over by the Archpriest of St Mary Major, His Eminence Cardinal Stanisław Ryłko. Some staff from the Vatican Museum opened the urn, took from it a fragment, and placed it in the special reliquary.

The gift of Pope Francis took place following the request of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who had asked to receive the entire crib in Bethlehem for the Christmas holidays. But after experts decided it was impossible to move the entire relic due to its extreme fragility, the Holy Father decided to remove a part of it and give it to the Custody of the Holy Land as a permanent gift.

The relic arrived in the Holy Land on Friday, November 29, a day on which it reached the first of two stages: Jerusalem. In the morning, the relic was exposed to the public in the chapel of Our Lady of Peace, in the Notre Dame Centre of Jerusalem. The exhibition was accompanied by a Mass celebrated by HE Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, Apostolic Nuncio in Israel and Cyprus and Apostolic Delegate in Jerusalem and Palestine, and by the concelebrants Father Francesco Patton, Custos of the Holy Land, and Father Juan Solana, LC, director of Notre Dame.

In his homily, Archbishop Girelli did not fail to dwell on how significant this gift is, urging the faithful not to remain indifferent to it so that "it can arouse in us the desire to be bearers of God" so that our very heart becomes "sacred crib of God made man."

In the afternoon, the Nuncio gave the relic to the Custos of the Holy Land. Archbishop Girelli read the message that Cardinal Ryłko addressed to the Custos of the Holy Land, recalling how Pope Francis accompanied this gift with his blessing. In response, Father Francesco Patton expressed gratitude to the Holy Father, adding, on behalf of the Custody, that he wanted to make this relic "bring the joy of the Gospel, moving among the various Christian communities of the Holy Land."

At the end of the ceremony, the relic was carried in a solemn procession to the nearby church of St Saviour, located in the complex of the Custody of the Holy Land, while the friars recited vespers. The ceremony coincided with the feast of All Saints of the Seraphic Order.

The following morning, a festive crowd of faithful and curious, huddled all along Star Street and around the Nativity Square, for the arrival of the relic of the Sacred Crib. Starting from the rotunda near the headquarters of Catholic Action, the Custos, accompanied by Mr. Ramzi Khoury, President of the Higher Presidential Committee for Ecclesiastical Affairs, by Father Ibrahim Faltas, responsible for Status Quo in the Basilica of the Nativity and by Father Rami Asakrieh, parish priest of St Catherine Parish, led the relic in procession through the entire Star Street, up to the Basilica of the Nativity. The procession was accompanied by the music of numerous scout bands of Bethlehem.


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