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Bethlehem: Christmas crowds gather in town Bethlehem: Christmas crowds gather in town
(about 7 hours later)
Large crowds have begun to gather in the biblical town of Bethlehem to kick off Christmas Eve celebrations. Large crowds have gathered in the biblical town of Bethlehem to begin Christmas Eve celebrations.
Tourists packed Manger Square in a party atmosphere, a BBC correspondent says.Tourists packed Manger Square in a party atmosphere, a BBC correspondent says.
The nearby Church of the Nativity sits on the spot where the Bible says Jesus was born.The nearby Church of the Nativity sits on the spot where the Bible says Jesus was born.
Meanwhile in St Peter's Basilica in Rome, Pope Francis is celebrating his first Christmas Eve Mass since becoming pontiff.
He earlier made a visit to Pope Emeritus Benedict, 86, and said he found his predecessor looking well.
The number of visitors to Bethlehem has been steadily rising in recent years as peace talks to resolve the Middle East conflict have resumed.The number of visitors to Bethlehem has been steadily rising in recent years as peace talks to resolve the Middle East conflict have resumed.
Despite the erection of Israel's separation barrier with the West Bank, which appears as a high concrete wall around the town, three gates have been opened for Christmas to allow the Christmas procession led by the Latin Patriarch coming from Jerusalem to enter the city, says the BBC's Yolande Knell in Bethlehem. Despite the erection of Israel's separation barrier with the West Bank - which appears as a high concrete wall around the town - three gates have been opened for Christmas to allow the Christmas procession led by the Latin Patriarch coming from Jerusalem to enter the city, says the BBC's Yolande Knell in Bethlehem.
In Vatican City, Pope Francis has made a Christmas visit to Pope Emeritus Benedict, 86, and said he found his predecessor looking well. "The message of Christmas is a message of peace, love and brotherhood. We have to be brothers with each other,'' said Latin Patriarch Archbishop Fouad Twal - the most senior Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land - as he arrived in town.
Francis, who was elected in March, spent about 30 minutes with Benedict in an ex-convent on the Vatican grounds where the former pope has been living since he stepped down earlier this year, the Reuters news agency reports. His motorcade crawled through Bethlehem's narrow streets as he stopped to greet visitors.
It took Archbishop Twal nearly 90 minutes to make the short trip to the Church of the Nativity, where thousands of people were gathered ahead of Midnight Mass.
In Vatican City, a life-sized nativity scene has been unveiled in the centre of St Peter's Square.
The BBC's Alan Johnston in Rome says thousands of worshippers from across Italy and around the world queued on a cold clear night before entering St Peter's.
As soaring music filled the air, Pope Francis made his entrance and moved slowly up the central aisle, followed by a retinue of clerics.
During the service, the Pope said that shepherds were the first to witness the birth of Jesus "because they were among the last, the outcast".
He called on Catholics to open their hearts and to struggle against the "spirit of darkness".
On Christmas Day, Francis will deliver his Christmas message from the basilica's central balcony overlooking St Peter's Square.