BETHLEHEM, West Bank — Bethlehem's Al-Mahd Church, better known as the Church of the Nativity, is greeting Christmas with a fresh face this year following a major rehabilitation of its roof and ancient mosaics.

The church, on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2012, has suffered earthquakes, storms and even political sieges ever since its construction in A.D. 330. The renovation of the church has been on the agenda ever since the late 2000s, with both the Palestinian Authority and UNESCO expressing a commitment to raise funds for much-needed work. Several parallel rehabilitation efforts started in 2013, and today, about 70% of its renovation work has been completed, Hanna Issa, the secretary-general of the Islamic-Christian Commission in Support of Jerusalem and Holy Sites, told Al-Monitor.

Known as the world's oldest church in daily use, Al-Mahd's original basilica was built in the fourth century by Roman Emperor Constantine I above a cave where Virgin Mary is said to have given birth to Jesus. In the early medieval period, other ecclesiastical buildings were incorporated into the original site. Consequently, today the Church of the Nativity is overseen by members of the Greek Orthodox Church, the Custody of the Holy Land and the Armenian Church. It's considered one of the most important Christian churches in the world after the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

The chapel’s floor and interior walls are decorated with marble and beautiful mosaics. Behind the altar, a silver star bears the Latin inscription, “Jesus was born here of the Virgin Mary.”