1973 Press Photo Priest Vitale Gavin after cleaning statue of Jesus in Bethlehem

Bethlehem (Church of Nativity). Franciscan Father Vitale Gavin replaces the statue of the infant Christ in its glass case, in the Roman Catholic Nativity Chapel of Bethlehem Church of the Nativity. The burly friar, custodian of the cave beneath the basilica, traditionally Christ's birth place, has dusted off the statue, which is carried in the procession to the Christmas midnight mass to re-enact the gospel description of the first Christmas.

Photo is dated 1973.

Photo measures 11 x 8.25 inches.