Locals join Christmas Eve celebrations in Bethlehem on December 24.

The mass took place with local religious leaders and Christians in the historic region - said to be where Jesus Christ was born.

An official reception took place for the patriarch, who was accompanied by metropolitans, bishops, senior officials of the patriarchate and notables of the parish, in the presence of the Governor of Bethlehem, Kamel Hamid, the Mayor of Bethlehem, Hanna Hananina, the Minister of Tourism, Rula Maayah, the head of the Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine, Ramzi Khoury, and the Director General of Police, Thabet Al-Saadi.

The patriarchal procession departed from the office of the Latin Patriarchate in occupied Jerusalem, towards the city of Bethlehem, to the square of Deir Mar Elias, where it was received, according to the statisko.

At the sound of the bells of the Church of the Nativity, the Patriarch, accompanied by his recipients, advanced to the court of the Church of the Nativity, led by priests, deacons, and priests from the Seminary Institute of Beit Jala, where he was bid farewell by his recipients, then entered the church, and was received by the Head of the Latin Monastery, then he presided over a special mass in preparation for the midnight mass that took place. It will be chaired by Patriarch Pizzaballa.