Bethlehem Christmas: Christians celebrate Midnight Mass
Christian pilgrims and tourists from around the world have converged on Bethlehem for Christmas.
Celebrations culminated in Midnight Mass at the 1,700-year-old Church of the Nativity, built on the spot where it is believed Jesus was born.
About 120,000 visitors are in the Palestinian West Bank town, 30% up on last year, officials said.
Meanwhile in the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Christmas Eve Mass at St Peter’s Basilica.
‘Superficial state’
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Fuad Twal, travelled from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to lead the Midnight Mass.
He passed through the massive gate in the controversial Israeli security barrier that separates Jerusalem from Bethlehem and arrived in Manger Square, where he was greeted with a bagpipe band.