The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, left Jerusalem on Saturday (December 24) for the West Bank town of Bethlehem, the traditional birthplace of Jesus, to lead Christmas celebrations which are expected to see the return of tourists and pilgrims after two years of COVID-19 closures.
However, numbers are still a far cry from the 3.5 million visitors who came to Bethlehem in winter 2019, just before the pandemic.
Pizzaballa left Jerusalem in a car convoy, and was scheduled to cross the Israeli built-separation barrier into the West Bank where he will lead the Midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity, traditionally attended by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and other Palestinian officials.
Making a stop outside the Mar Elias Monastery, Pizzaballa greeted people who cam to meet him.
“I hope that Christmas will bring wisdom to our people, special those who have responsibility in order to help to reconcile the situation and not to create more division,”
