December 24, 2023 / 10:11 AM
Many might think that the sacred cradle of the Child Jesus is located in Bethlehem, however, it is in the Basilica of Santa María Maggiore, in Rome.
It is in this temple where a relic is preserved that has been an object of devotion for several centuries. These are the remains of cradlethe “holy cradle” or manger in which, according to the Gospels, the Baby Jesus was placed at birth.
In the year 432, Pope Sixtus III decided to make a “Nativity Grotto” similar to the one in Bethlehem inside the primitive Basilica of Santa María Maggiore. The church then took the name of Santa Maria adpraesepemwhich in Latin means “manger.”