The Church of Saint Catherine or Chapel of Saint Catherine (, , ) is a
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
religious building located adjacent to the northern part of the
Basilica of the Nativity in
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...
in the
West Bank
The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
,
Palestine
Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
. It works as a parish church
and Franciscan monastery.
There is a complex of caves underneath the church.
It is administered by the
Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, follows the
Roman Rite
The Roman Rite () is the most common ritual family for performing the ecclesiastical services of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The Roman Rite governs Rite (Christianity) ...
, and is included in the
UNESCO World Heritage List
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...
since 2012 as part of the "Birthplace of
Jesus
Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
" World Heritage Site.
History
Byzantine period
St
Jerome
Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome.
He is best known ...
's monastery was possibly located at the site of the medieval cloister, its foundations laying hidden under the current pavement laid by Barluzzi.
Crusader period
Augustinian monastery.
Mamluk period
A small chapel, located near the site of the current altar of St
Catherine of Alexandria
Catherine of Alexandria, also spelled Katherine, was, according to tradition, a Christian saint and Virginity, virgin, who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the emperor Maxentius. According to her hagiography, she was both a ...
, was dedicated to the Alexandrine saint in 1347 as part of the Franciscan monastery.
The church is first mentioned in the 15th century.
Late Ottoman period
The church in its current shape is the result of work from the 19th century.
It is built in Neo-Gothic style. It was extended in 1881 with funds provided by Emperor
Franz Joseph I
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...
of
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
.
After World War II
The Crusader-period cloister was restored in 1948 by Italian architect
Antonio Barluzzi.
Connection to St Catherine
The medieval chapel was built at the alleged site of Jesus' apparition to St Catherine, where he announced her of her coming martyrdom.
Televised Christmas Mass
This is the church where the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem celebrates
Midnight Mass on
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...
.
Relic of the Holy Crib
Tradition has it that Patriarch
Sophronius of Jerusalem has sent the relics of the wooden manger in which Jesus was born to
Pope Theodore I in the 640s, soon after the
Muslim capture of Jerusalem.
Others claim that it was
Empress Helena who brought the relic (see her
326-28 pilgrimage).
The pieces of wood, known as the
Holy Crib (''sacra culla'' or ''cunabulum''
), have been kept in the Basilica of
Santa Maria Maggiore
Santa Maria Maggiore (), also known as the Basilica of Saint Mary Major or the Basilica of Saint Mary the Great, is one of the four Basilicas in the Catholic Church#Major and papal basilicas, major papal basilicas and one of the Seven Pilgrim C ...
in Rome.
Shortly before Christmas 2019, Pope Francis
Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...
has sent a small fragment to Bethlehem via Jerusalem, after specialists extracted it from the larger relic.[
]
It has since been venerated at St Catherine's, where it is meant to remain "forever", at a side altar of the southern nave.
Gallery
Bethlehem Catholic Mass 1633 (507880881).jpg, Catholic Mass in the church
Bethlehem Katharinenkirche Innen Orgel.JPG, The organ of St. Catherine
Palestine Bethlehem3 tango7174.jpg, One of the stained glass windows
Bethlehemer Katharinenkirche.jpg, View from the main altar
File:Church of St Catherine Bethlehem.jpg, Main altar
Bethlehem, Cloister of Church of Saint Catherine (08).jpg, Restored medieval cloister
Bethlehem, Cloister of Church of Saint Catherine (16).jpg, Restored medieval cloister and courtyard
See also
* Catholic Church in Palestine
References
External links
Photos of St Catherine's Church
at the Manar al-Athar
Manar al-Athar is a photo archive based at the Faculty of Classics at the University of Oxford which aims to provide high-quality open-access images of archaeological sites and buildings. The archive's collection focuses on areas of the Roman Em ...
photo archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Church of Saint Catherine, Bethlehem
Roman Catholic churches in Bethlehem
Roman Catholic churches completed in 1881
1881 establishments in the Ottoman Empire
Christianity in Bethlehem
Church buildings in the Kingdom of Jerusalem
19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings
Catherine of Alexandria