Steps lead to the subterranean Grotto of the Nativity.

At 2 we all started off in procession to the Grotto of the Nativity carrying tapers.

In that same year, the religiously significant silver star was stolen that had been displayed above the Grotto of the Nativity.

The Grotto of the Nativity, an underground cave located beneath the basilica, enshrines the site where Jesus is said to have been born.

The church is situated above the Grotto of the Nativity, a small subterranean chamber in which a silver star marks the place of Jesus's birth.

Situated in the passage used by pilgrims making their way to the Grotto of the Nativity, the bas-relief also incorporates symbolism from the Old Testament.

The pope later celebrated Mass in Manger Square and visited the Grotto of the Nativity, believed to be the birthplace of Jesus.

At Rachel's Tomb, he is met by Bethlehem dignitaries and escorted to Manger Square, then to the Grotto of the Nativity.

After the Mass, the pope visited the Grotto of the Nativity, kneeling in the cavern in which tradition says Jesus was born, and prayed in solitary silence for more than 15 minutes.

One of Christianity's most holy places, the site's focal point is the Grotto of the Nativity, a rectangular cavern beneath the church that has been considered the site of Christ's birth since at least the 2nd century.

Obama is on a mission to help bring peace to the Holy Land and may indeed find a moment of personal peace and prayer in the Grotto of the Nativity beneath the stone floor of the church.

It’s important that tourists spend some time in and around Bethlehem, visiting famous sites such as the Grotto of the Nativity and Shepherds’ Fields in the neighboring village of Beit Sahour, with its 4th century cave-church.

After a short tour of the sixth century Byzantine church he descended into the Grotto of the Nativity, an underground chapel glimmering with hanging lanterns, where he lit a candle at the believed site of Jesus's birth.

The structure of the site of the Church of the Nativity is a combination of two churches and a crypt beneath-the Grotto of the Nativity where tradition states that Jesus of Nazareth was born.