The Vatican Secretary of State presided over the consecration of the Latin church of al-Maghtas on behalf of Pope Francis. New call for a ceasefire, for the release of the hostages and for the search for peace based on coexistence between peoples. Card Pizzaballa: “A gift from the local Church to pilgrims from all over the world.” To spiritually animate the church the priests and nuns of the Incarnate Word, just like in the parish of Gaza.
Amman () – “From this place, which is at the lowest point on earth, from this blessed land where we feel all the suffering of conflict, inhumanity and sin, from this place where the sky has opened, “We ask heaven for the gift of peace, the true peace that is born in the hearts and spreads throughout the fabric of society.”
This is the message that Card. Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, today entrusted the Christian community of the Holy Land and the authorities of Jordan during the consecration ceremony of the Baptism Churchwho has presided as Pope Francis’ legate in al-Maghtas, the desert town on the banks of the Jordan River that an ancient Christian tradition identifies as the Bethany beyond the Jordan where the Gospel of John places the Baptism of Jesus.
A place not far from the Dead Sea – below sea level – rediscovered as the Holy Land in the 1990s by Franciscan archaeologist Brother Michele Piccirillo, after having long been inaccessible due to minefields after the war of 1967 in the border areas between Israel and Jordan. It was only 25 years ago that the Jordanian Catholic community was able to resume the tradition of pilgrimages to this place on the banks of the Jordan River on the feast of the Baptism of Jesus. King Abdullah II donated land to each of the country’s Christian denominations to build their own church in al Maghtas. The first stone of the Latin Patriarchate church – already completed – was laid by Benedict XVI during his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 2009.
Today’s ceremony, along with several thousand Jordanian Christians, was attended by the country’s authorities, who deeply believe in the message of peace of this Holy Place. Representing King Abdullah II was Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad, who is also the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Baptism Site and is working hard to improve it. A day of celebration, then, but one that certainly did not forget the deep wounds that the conflict is leaving in Gaza and throughout the region.
“My presence here today, also at the request of the Pope, is intended to be a concrete sign of the closeness of the entire Church to the Christian communities of the Middle East,” said Card. Parolin during his homily at the celebration -. This closeness has manifested itself in many ways in the last painful and war-filled months, especially through the words of Pope Francis. The Vatican Secretary of State recalled in particular the message sent by Francis to the Catholics of the Middle East on October 7, 2024 – exactly one year after the Hamas massacres that started the war – with the invitation to “be a seed of hope , a small seed, a seed surrounded by darkness, but a seed that bears fruit.
“I would like to exhort everyone,” added the Card. Parolin- to not succumb to the difficulties of this moment, trusting that God guides the history of humanity, even if this history has signs of violence, sin and death. At a time in history when serious unrest affects this region, it is important that Christians also contribute to building a just and peaceful society. And turning his gaze to the other bank of the Jordan – the Israeli one, which is right in front of al Maghtas, in a stretch in which the river is little more than a stream -, the Pope’s envoy also once again asked for “a halt to the fire, the release of prisoners and hostages, the guarantee of human rights and the opening of the hearts of the leaders of nations to the search for peace and coexistence between peoples. “It should not be violence,” he concluded, “that determines our future.”
“For fifteen years we have been waiting for this exceptional and beautiful event,” said Card. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, in his greeting speech. “This church,” he had explained, “is above all at the service of the entire community, that is, of the faithful who live in the Holy Land.” But its doors “are also open to all the dear pilgrims that we invite to visit Jordan and to those who have already visited and wish to return. It is a gift from the local Church to all dear friends from all over who come to be blessed by the waters of the Jordan River and to make a pilgrimage to this Church.
Precisely for this reason, Card. Pizzaballa thanked the Congregation of the Incarnate Word – the Argentine missionary institute that for many years has also animated the life of several communities in the Holy Land, including the parish of the Holy Family in Gaza – which, with its priests and nuns, will also offer a spiritual service in al-Maghtas. “We encourage people to make a spiritual retreat in this holy place and spend time in the desert of John the Baptist,” concluded the Patriarch.
Photo: Abouna.org
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