This 19th-century church adjoins the 6th-century Church of the Nativity, built over the cave where Jesus was born. It even shares a wall with the Nativity church. The Church of St Catherine is the parish church for Bethlehem’s Catholics. It is also often used by groups of pilgrims.
The midnight Mass beamed from Bethlehem to television viewers worldwide on Christmas Eve is celebrated in the Church of St Catherine of Alexandria.
St Catherine was an early 4th-century martyr from Egypt was of noble birth and well educated. At the age of 18, she challenged the emperor Maxentius (or his father, the emperor Maximian) for persecuting Christians and worshipping false gods.
The enraged emperor ordered her to be tortured on a wheel — hence the term “Catherine wheel”. But when Catherine touched the wheel, it broke. She was then beheaded and tradition says angels carried her body to Mount Sinai, where in the 6th century a church and monastery were built in her honour.
This latter part of the story was, however, unknown to the earliest pilgrims to the mountain. It was two or three centuries later that the story of St Catherine and the angels began to circulate.
St Catherine of Alexandria has been ranked with St Margaret and St Barbara as one of the 14 “most helpful” saints in heaven. She is also one of the saints reputed to have spoken to St Joan of Arc.
The church was built between 1725 and 1730 in order to replace a more ancient building, which dated back to the middle of 16th century which was damaged by the earthquake of 1693; it had been the seat of the brotherhood since its birth in 1574. The new building was realised thanks to an amount of money given away by a priest, Giacinto Giglio, governor pro tempore of the brotherhood. The new seat was consecrated on 6 October 1730. Around the middle of the eighteenth century the facade and the bell tower were built. Between 1774 and 1792 the marble altars were constructed, while the marble inlaid floor was constructed about 1803−04. The building was damaged by English air raids during the summer of 1943. Repairs were made in the years after the war. The church was damaged again by the earthquakes of 1990 and 2002.
The building is of an octagonal structure, however the different length of the final parts of the passage which link the vestibule and the presbytery gives a pronounced longitudinal course. The hall is covered by a lunette cloister vault, which extends upwards. The church features a marble inlaid floor. The interior decoration consists of Tuscan pilasters that support the trabeation, on which stands the tambour. The pilasters turn into the ribs of the vault. This one is divided into eight slices whose center represents the Agnus Dei. On one side of the octagon there are a wooden confessional and a side exit. The four sides of the octagon receive altars. The main one was built with precious stone materials and stands over a raised platform. In the centre of the vestibule there is a double stone which allows people to enter inside the crypt, where centuries ago, the brothers were buried. The facade is set on a basalt base which is divided into three parts by four Tuscan pilaters. These support remarkable eves. In the central part of the facade there is a simple entry portal; above it you can see a window crowned by a triangulate tympanum. In the left part there are narrow loopholes and a circular window which illuminates the bell tower stairway. On the top of the tower is a small temple decorated by four one-light windows, one on each side. It is covered by a small dome equipped with pinnacles and it shows an octagonal plant, similar to the church.
The Church of Saint Catherine is affiliated with the Catholic Church and is located in the northern part adjacent to the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem in the West Bank in the Palestinian territories. It works as a parish church in Bethlehem and Franciscan monastery. There is a complex of caves underneath the temple.
Is included in the Patriarchal See of Jerusalem, follows the Roman or Latin rite and is included in the World Heritage List of UNESCO since 2012 as the birthplace of Jesus: Church of the Nativity and the Pilgrimage Route in Bethlehem.
It was dedicated in 1347 to St. Catherine of Alexandria.
The midnight Mass beamed from Bethlehem to television viewers worldwide on Christmas Eve is celebrated in the Church of St Catherine of Alexandria.
St Catherine was an early 4th-century martyr from Egypt was of noble birth and well educated. At the age of 18, she challenged the emperor Maxentius (or his father, the emperor Maximian) for persecuting Christians and worshipping false gods.
The enraged emperor ordered her to be tortured on a wheel — hence the term “Catherine wheel”. But when Catherine touched the wheel, it broke. She was then beheaded and tradition says angels carried her body to Mount Sinai, where in the 6th century a church and monastery were built in her honour.
This latter part of the story was, however, unknown to the earliest pilgrims to the mountain. It was two or three centuries later that the story of St Catherine and the angels began to circulate.
St Catherine of Alexandria has been ranked with St Margaret and St Barbara as one of the 14 “most helpful” saints in heaven. She is also one of the saints reputed to have spoken to St Joan of Arc.
The church was built between 1725 and 1730 in order to replace a more ancient building, which dated back to the middle of 16th century which was damaged by the earthquake of 1693; it had been the seat of the brotherhood since its birth in 1574. The new building was realised thanks to an amount of money given away by a priest, Giacinto Giglio, governor pro tempore of the brotherhood. The new seat was consecrated on 6 October 1730. Around the middle of the eighteenth century the facade and the bell tower were built. Between 1774 and 1792 the marble altars were constructed, while the marble inlaid floor was constructed about 1803−04. The building was damaged by English air raids during the summer of 1943. Repairs were made in the years after the war. The church was damaged again by the earthquakes of 1990 and 2002.
The building is of an octagonal structure, however the different length of the final parts of the passage which link the vestibule and the presbytery gives a pronounced longitudinal course. The hall is covered by a lunette cloister vault, which extends upwards. The church features a marble inlaid floor. The interior decoration consists of Tuscan pilasters that support the trabeation, on which stands the tambour. The pilasters turn into the ribs of the vault. This one is divided into eight slices whose center represents the Agnus Dei. On one side of the octagon there are a wooden confessional and a side exit. The four sides of the octagon receive altars. The main one was built with precious stone materials and stands over a raised platform. In the centre of the vestibule there is a double stone which allows people to enter inside the crypt, where centuries ago, the brothers were buried. The facade is set on a basalt base which is divided into three parts by four Tuscan pilaters. These support remarkable eves. In the central part of the facade there is a simple entry portal; above it you can see a window crowned by a triangulate tympanum. In the left part there are narrow loopholes and a circular window which illuminates the bell tower stairway. On the top of the tower is a small temple decorated by four one-light windows, one on each side. It is covered by a small dome equipped with pinnacles and it shows an octagonal plant, similar to the church.
The Church of Saint Catherine is affiliated with the Catholic Church and is located in the northern part adjacent to the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem in the West Bank in the Palestinian territories. It works as a parish church in Bethlehem and Franciscan monastery. There is a complex of caves underneath the temple.
Is included in the Patriarchal See of Jerusalem, follows the Roman or Latin rite and is included in the World Heritage List of UNESCO since 2012 as the birthplace of Jesus: Church of the Nativity and the Pilgrimage Route in Bethlehem.
It was dedicated in 1347 to St. Catherine of Alexandria.
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