The Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Friday consecrated a new Catholic church at Bethany Beyond the Jordan on the banks of the Jordan River officially recognized by the church as the site where John the Baptist baptized Jesus. Parolin’s three-day visit to Jordan coincides with a new exhibition of 90 Jordanian artifacts of the nation's history at the start of Christianity, to be debuted at the Vatican in February.
Representing Pope Francis, the top Vatican diplomat, Cardinal Pietro Parolin inaugurated and consecrated the Church of the Baptism of the Lord at Al-Maghtas, known in the Bible as Bethany Beyond the Jordan, on the banks of the Jordan River Friday before thousands of Jordanians, Palestinians, other Arabs and diplomats.
“Pope Francis sent me as his legate [personal representative] for the consecration of the Latin church on the site of Jesus’ baptism. I would like also in the name of His Holiness to thank the royal household, especially His Majesty King Abdullah II, the Royal Highness Prince Ghazi, and the government of Jordan for the care they have shown to this holy place,” said Parolin.
“My presence here today, according to the wishes of the pope, is meant to be a tangible sign of the closeness of the whole Church to the Christian communities of the Middle East,” Parolin said in his homily, read on his behalf in Arabic by the Rev. Jihad Shweihat. “At a time in history when this region is experiencing serious upheaval, it is important that Christians also make their contribution to the building of a just and peaceful society,” he said.
Parolin celebrated Mass, accompanied by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, during the ceremony also celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Catholic Church’s annual pilgrimage to Jesus’ Baptismal site. Parolin also anointed the church’s altar, dedicating it as where the relics of Pope St. John Paul II and the recently canonized Holy Martyrs of Damascus and others will be placed.
The papal envoy also spoke of the planned Vatican-Jordanian exhibition “Jordan: Dawn of Christianity,” to debut at the Vatican next month, celebrating Jordan’s biblical roots through the centuries. It also commemorates 30 years of diplomatic ties between Jordan and the Holy See and coincides with the Vatican’s 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope.
“Other sites testify to the presence of Christ in the early church. These will be the subject of an exhibition to be displayed in the Vatican in February as an expression of the profound bond that unites Jordan and the Holy See,” said Cardinal Parolin.
Jordan’s tourism and antiquities minister, Lina Annab, described the exhibition’s importance to journalists on Wednesday in Amman, saying many people outside the country do not realize that there are Jordanian Christians.
"This exhibition celebrates and sheds light on the origins and heritage as well as the enduring legacy and presence of Christianity in Jordan. The origins of Christianity are here. Jordan is an integral part of the Holy Land. We are more interested in really showcasing the importance of Jordan as far as the faiths that have lived on this land, whether the Islamic faith or the Christian faith,” said Annab.
Three popes have visited the site of Jesus’ baptism on the Jordanian banks of the Jordan River: John Paul II in 2000, Benedict XVI in 2009, and Francis in 2014. Pope Paul VI first visited Jordan in 1964, making Jordan the only country to have received four Catholic papal visits.
