VATIKǍN - During World Interfaith Harmony Week, Jordan's Minister of Tourism and Antiquities and the director of the site of Jesus' baptism describe the importance of pilgrimages to the country.
In the context of the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel, the Custodian of the Holy Land and the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem have appealed to the international community to resume pilgrimages to the Holy Land.
The Latin Patriarch, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, described the pilgrimage as "absolutely safe" and the Custos, Fra Francesco Patton, encouraged people to go "to the Holy Land as pilgrims, to return to the roots of our faith" and to express their "closeness to the small Christian community in the Holy Land".
Jordan: Where Christianity began
Jordan's Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Lina Annab, echoed the call to return to the Holy Land. In an interview with Vatican News, she stressed the importance of these pilgrimages because Jordan is the place where "the Christian presence began, where Christians belong."
In 2024, the number of visitors to the country fell by almost 4 % due to various events in the region, including the war between Israel and Hamas. Annab described this as alarming because the Christian presence, "whether historical, present or future, is an integral part of who we are, our identity".
With approximately 30 % of the world's population professing Christianity, the historical ties to Jordan have far-reaching implications. Just recently, on January 31, an exhibition entitled "Jordan: The Dawn of Christianity" opened at the Vatican, showcasing "the history, heritage and rich tradition of Christianity in Jordan through the presentation of pilgrimage sites." It gives visitors the opportunity to experience these important holy sites, especially those who have not been able to travel to the region.
Jordan's Minister of Tourism and Antiquities speaks at a press conference for the "Jordan: The Dawn of Christianity" exhibition.
However, Annab expressed hope that with the launch of the Jubilee Year of Hope and the ceasefire agreement, the roads to Jordan will open up and more people will visit the country. She highlighted that visiting Jordan and the various holy sites there can be "a powerful experience for people to come and see and experience the spirituality, the peace and the sense of peace that one gets when visiting these places."
Jordan: a place of forgiveness
One of these holy places is the site of Jesus' baptism in Bethany beyond the Jordan. At the beginning of the year, the Church of the Baptism of the Lord was inaugurated and named a pilgrimage site for the Jubilee Year, where people can obtain plenary indulgences.
The director of the Baptism of the Lord site, Rustom Mkjian, explained that in addition to being a religious site, it is meant to be "an example to the whole world of how people can live in love and peace." He described it as a place of ecumenism where people from different religious and political backgrounds come together: from Catholics and Baptists to royalty from Luxembourg and Sweden.
Custodian of the Holy Land to wet his feet in the waters of the Jordan River in 2021
World Interfaith Harmony Week, first proposed by Jordan's King Abdullah II at the United Nations in 2010, runs from 1-7 February. Director Mkjian explained that the baptismal site serves as a place where this dialogue and communion occurs - where a Jew, a Christian and a Muslim visit the site "and all three cry together."
The director stressed that this scene is very much needed in the world today, and the place where these pilgrimages of hope and interreligious encounters are found is "not just the Bible you receive in baptism, but all of Jordan."
Kielce Gussie / vaticannews.va / gnews.cz-jav
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