From the BBC:
“Jesus manger: Relic returns to
Bethlehem in time for Christmas”
A fragment of wood believed to
have formed part of Jesus' manger has been returned to Bethlehem after more
than 1,000 years in Europe. Pope Francis
ordered the return of the thumb-sized relic from Rome's Basilica of Santa Maria
Maggiore as a gift. The relic had been
in Rome since the 7th Century. It was
briefly put on display in Jerusalem before continuing its journey to Bethlehem
to coincide with the start of Christmas celebrations there. The relic, encased in an ornate stand, was
welcomed to Bethlehem on Saturday by a procession of marching bands and taken
to the Church of St Catherine, next to the Church of the Nativity where
tradition says Jesus was born.
How important is the relic?
Some Christians believe the tiny
piece of wood formed part of the crib that Jesus lay in after being born. Custodia
Terrae Sanctae, the custodian of Catholic religious sites in the Holy Land,
said the Patriarch of Jerusalem, St Sophronius, donated the relic to Pope
Theodore I in the 7th Century. It said the relic had since been kept on display
in Rome's Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, where a "very large number of
pilgrims from all over the world" went each day to "venerate
it". While most of it has remained
in Rome, the return of the small fragment was celebrated by Christians in the
region. "My heart is beating. I'm really crying from joy for this event
and thankful also for the Pope, for this kindness that he brought to Bethlehem,"
Louisa Fleckenstein, a guide for pilgrims visiting the Holy Land, told AP news
agency. But some were underwhelmed. "When
we heard that the manger is coming back we thought it would be the whole
manger, but then we saw it," Sandy Shahin Hijazeen told Reuters.
Why now?
The Vatican has described the
return of the relic as a gift from Pope Francis. Bethlehem's mayor, Anton Salman, told
Palestinian news agency Wafa that its return followed a request from
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a recent visit to the Vatican. Its return coincided with the beginning of
Advent, a four-week period leading up to Christmas. Christians make up an
estimated 1% of the Palestinian population in the West Bank, Gaza and East
Jerusalem, but Bethlehem is a popular place for Christian pilgrims from around
the world, particularly at Christmas time. Tens of thousands of Christian pilgrims are
expected this month, according to Wafa. "To celebrate Christmas with the
presence of part of the manger in which Jesus Christ was born will be a
magnificent and huge event," said Amira Hanania, a member of Mr Abbas's
Higher Committee of Churches Affairs.
Is this unusual?
Dr Yisca Harani, an Israeli
expert on Christianity, described the relic's return as an "inversion of
history". "A thousand years ago, Rome was busy collecting relics from
the East to build itself up as an alternative Jerusalem. Now, Rome is strong
enough that it can return relics to Jerusalem and Bethlehem," she told
Israeli newspaper Haaretz. The relic of
the manger is not the first religious artefact to be returned by the Pope. Earlier this year, he gave some of the
purported bone fragments of Saint Peter to the leader of the Eastern Orthodox
Church. He later said the move was intended to bring the Orthodox and Catholic
churches together.
^ I’ve been to the Church of the Nativity in
Bethlehem and am glad that a fragment of the manger was returned, but I am also
glad that the majority of the manger was still kept safe in the Vatican. The Church
of the Nativity has some security issues (being in the West Bank.) In 2002, 50
Palestinian terrorists took 200 people inside the Church hostage for 39 days.
There was also a fire that destroyed part of the Church in 2014. So now
Catholics can go to both Bethlehem and the Vatican to see Jesus’ manger. ^
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