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January 6, 2021

Mass is back on the banks of Jordan

Churches stand on the hill in Jordan behind the Franciscan Chapel of St. John The Baptist at Qasr al-Yahud, on the West Bank of the Jordan River. The bullet-marked chapel was returned to the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land after being closed by the Israelis in 1967 because of land mines.

QASR AL-YAHUD, West Bank -- For the first time in 54 years, a Mass will be celebrated Jan. 10, the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, at St. John the Baptist Chapel on the banks of the Jordan River.

Published in International
July 14, 2015

Jordan bank of river where Jesus baptized declared UNESCO heritage site

Pope Francis makes the Sign of the Cross in 2014 after praying at Bethany Beyond the Jordan, which UNESCO just declared a World Heritage site and the location of Jesus' baptism.

JERUSALEM - UNESCO declared Bethany Beyond the Jordan, on the eastern side of the Jordan River, as a World Heritage site and the location of Jesus' baptism.

Published in International
January 9, 2012

Young and old, hundreds of pilgrims seek baptism in Jordan River ritual

Palestinian Catholics from Jerusalem, Najed Mishriki, 40, and his wife, Mary, 40, sprinkle their son, Khamis, 18 months, by the Jordan River on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord Jan. 8. Located near the West Bank town of Jericho, the site is believed to be the place where St. John baptized Jesus.

QASR EL-YEHUD, West Bank - With 8-year-old grandson Jamal in tow, Hajeh Mattar made her way across a wooden platform alongside the Jordan River. Her plan: to baptize him in the waters of the river at the traditional site of Jesus' baptism.

Jamal's father, Awad, his mother, Manal, and his sister Justine, 6, followed not far behind. For Hajeh, 65, it was the opportunity to fulfill a promise she had made at the site almost a decade ago when she prayed to God to see grandchildren from her son Awad, now 35.

It was her way to observe the feast of the Baptism of the Lord Jan. 8 along with hundreds of Catholic and Orthodox pilgrims who made their way to the site.

Published in International