The Nativity Story will premeire….at the Vatican.

The Nativity Story will become the first film ever to premiere at the Vatican, the film’s distributor has announced. The film, which is due to be released December 1, will be shown on Sunday, November 26 at the Vatican’s Pope Paul VI Hall to an audience of appproximately 7,000 invited guests, including director Catherine Hardwick, actors Shohreh Aghdashloo and Oscar Isaac, producers Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey, and screenwriter Mike Rich. The screening will benefit the construction of a school in Mughar, Israel, 40 miles from Nazareth. Rolf Mittweg, New Line President and COO of Worldwide Distribution and Marketing, said of the film, "We are very proud of The Nativity Story and extremely grateful that the Vatican has embraced the film in this way," says Mittweg. "We believe it is the perfect venue to present the film’s universal message of hope and faith, a message we are sure will resonate around the world."

Interestingly, the press release makes no mention of Keisha Castle-Hughes, the 16-year-old actress who plays Mary in the film — who, it was announced last month, is now herself pregnant out of wedlock. I’m curious whether Castle-Hughes was invited to the Vatican affair; I would sincerely hope that she was, and that she herself chose not to attend for whatever reason.

I’d think that it was probably a joint decision, all round – her presence and unusual circumstances would undoubtedly take attention away from the film. (FYI, Castle-Hughes, whom you might remember as the lead in Whale Rider, is pregnant by a long-time (well..relatively) boyfriend.)

The Paul VI Hall is where the General Audiences are held when the weather’s bad.