Bethlehem is situated five miles south of Jerusalem at a very short distance from the high road from Jerusalem to Hebron. As is fitting for the story of the humble beginnings of Jesus, over the traditional spot of the Nativity in Bethlehem stands a church, St. Mary of the Nativity. It is surrounded on the northwest and southwest by the convents of the Latins (Franciscans), Greeks, and Armenians, respectively.
The building is, apart from additions and modifications made by Justinian (527-565), substantially the work of Constantine (about 330). Underneath that most ancient and venerable monument of Christianity, a favorite destination of pilgrims throughout the centuries, is the grotto of the Nativity.
The Nativity chapel, running in the same general direction as the church (east to west), is situated under the choir. At the eastern end is a silver star with the inscription: “Hic de Virgine Maria Jesus Christus natus est” (Here the Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ) near the Chapel of the Crib.
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