In Bethlehem, Christmas celebrations make a comeback for first time since 2022
December 26, 2025
» Continue to this story on NBC
CWN Editor's Note: Christmas was celebrated with public festivity in Bethlehem for the first time since 2022.
“Caesar’s decree seems to dominate the scene: the emperor who counts, records, organizes and govern,” Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, OFM, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, preached at Midnight Mass there (video). “Yet, without knowing it, that very decree becomes an instrument of a greater design.”
“This is one of the great announcements of Christmas: God does not wait for history to get better before He enters it. He enters while history is what it is,” Cardinal Pizzaballa continued. “Thus, He teaches us that no time is definitively lost and no situation is too dark for God to dwell in.”
The above note supplements, highlights, or corrects details in the original source (link above). About CWN news coverage.
For all current news, visit our News home page.
All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a current donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!
