Why there’s a new Catholic church at Jesus’ baptism site

[Michie]

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin will consecrate Friday a new Catholic church at the traditional site of Jesus’ baptism in Jordan.

The cardinal will preside at the Jan. 10 dedication and inauguration of the Church of the Baptism of the Lord at Al-Maghtas, also known as the Baptism Site “Bethany Beyond the Jordan.”

According to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the church will be “one of the largest in the Middle East, joining esteemed places of pilgrimage and prayer like the Church of the Annunciation, the Church of the Nativity, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.”

How did a Catholic church come to be built in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the official title of a country with a 97% Muslim population? And what’s the significance of the new church?

The Pillar takes a look.

Continued below.

Why there’s a new Catholic church at Jesus’ baptism site

Cardinal Parolin will consecrate Friday a new church at the traditional site at the River Jordan

www.pillarcatholic.com

 

[Valletta]

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin will consecrate Friday a new Catholic church at the traditional site of Jesus’ baptism in Jordan.

The cardinal will preside at the Jan. 10 dedication and inauguration of the Church of the Baptism of the Lord at Al-Maghtas, also known as the Baptism Site “Bethany Beyond the Jordan.”

According to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the church will be “one of the largest in the Middle East, joining esteemed places of pilgrimage and prayer like the Church of the Annunciation, the Church of the Nativity, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.”

How did a Catholic church come to be built in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the official title of a country with a 97% Muslim population? And what’s the significance of the new church?

The Pillar takes a look.

Continued below.

Why there’s a new Catholic church at Jesus’ baptism site

Cardinal Parolin will consecrate Friday a new church at the traditional site at the River Jordan

www.pillarcatholic.com

That's exciting. It wasn't relatively long ago that I first learned that water from the Jordan is considered blessed.

 

[Gregory Thompson]

It's an older article, but Jordan is more secular than people think.

The Secular-Islamist Divide Deepens in Jordan

The tug of war between proponents of a civil, democratic, and secular state, on the one hand, and conservative forces, especially religious hardliners, on the other, has become the center of public debate in Jordan against a backdrop of incidents that have recently polarized the kingdom...

www.mei.edu