Below the sanctuary of the Major Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore is the Bethlehem Crypt where many significant figures in the history
of the Roman Catholic Church are buried. The crypt is furnished with an altar and seating for the celebration of the Eucharist.

A relic of the crib believed to be used in the nativity of Jesus is protected within the crypt. Devoted to the nativity, Saint Ignatius
of Loyola presided over his first mass as a priest here on December 25, 1538. He would later establish the Society of Jesus (Jesuit Order).

Buried in the Bethlehem Crypt is Saint Jerome, Doctor of the Church, who translated the Bible into the Latin language in the 4th century, the Vulgate.
The body of Pope Pius V was buried here; Gian Lorenzo Bernini also rests in the basilica.