AceShowbiz -

The first step has been made and it turned out to be a very successful one.

Finally encountered its premiere at the Vatican yesterday, November 26 as scheduled, "The Nativity Story" really got more than warm response that day when about 7,000 guests who attended a benefit gala premiere in the Paul VI Hall broke into applause five times during the screening and again at the end.

Even Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican's Secretary of State, who ranks second only to Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican hierarchy, openly showed his admiration, praising it as an effective tool for religious education "because it introduces us to the mystery of the great gift of God."

"It is well done," he complimented. "It is a good cinematic event ... the judgment is positive."

"Nativity", the third directorial effort of Texas-born filmmaker Catherine Hardwicke, is a New Line Cinema production and will open in theaters worldwide on December 1 this year. It tells the arduous journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem commenced by Joseph and Mary which culminates in the birth of Jesus Christ.