By Jean-Baptiste de Fombelle and Terene Hegarty, in Bethany Beyond the Jordan (Jordan)
January 20, 2026
On Friday, January 9, more than half a dozen team leaders from around the world joined several thousand people who attended the annual Mass commemorating the baptism of Christ at the Jordanian site of Bethany Beyond the Jordan (Al-Maghtas). Civil and religious authorities announced the country’s great ambition to celebrate, in 2030, the 2,000th anniversary of the baptism of Christ.
The year-long celebration, which recognizes the Baptism of the Lord as the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, is set to be undertaken with great enthusiasm. Jordanian officials told the team that the preparations for the celebrations are already underway and will be comprehensive. They expect to welcome pilgrims from around the world to Jordan to celebrate the momentous year.
Bayard personnel from Africa, Canada, France, Spain, the Philippines, and the United States, participated in the Mass and several other events in Jordan earlier this month. Visiting holy sites and meeting with both Church and government officials, the Bayard team was greatly impressed and inspired by visiting religious and historic sites that, in some cases, have apparently changed little since Biblical times.
The Bayard team had the opportunity to visit (and swim in) the Dead Sea, as well as to view the panoramic landscapes and mountains that were dotted with nomadic people, camels, ancient ruins, and many religious sites where scholars believe both John the Baptist and Jesus travelled.
Just prior to the Mass, light rain accompanied the team and Church officials as they gathered on the eastern bank of the Jordan River. In Jordan, rain is a sign of blessing.
More than 5,000 people made the journey to attend the annual Mass. It was a few festive and prayerful hours, set in the new Latin church that was inaugurated in 2025 by Cardinal Parolin. The Bayard team members were among those who participated in the Mass. The church is close to the traditional/probable site near where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River.
In 2,000, as part of the Church’s worldwide Jubliee, Pope John Paul II visited the Jordan River site, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. He acknowledged the importance of the place where many believe is the place where John the Baptist baptized Jesus.
Gathering on the river, with Israel on the opposite bank only a few feet away, the Bayard team enjoyed the sound of drums and bagpipes. Along with the Bayard team, many young people from Jordanian scouting groups and other Christian youth movements were accompanied by ministers, officials, and diplomats seated in the front rows. The same enthusiasm was evident among the dozens of priests and bishops present, including the papal nuncio, as well as a large delegation from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.
Despite the tense situation in Jordan since October 7, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan remains a stable and peaceful country where the Christian community is recognized and encouraged, living in harmony with the Muslim majority.
A Major Commemorative Project
It is therefore no surprise to hear, before the microphones and cameras of the media, the united voices of the Jordanian Minister of Tourism, the director of the Jordan Tourism Board, and the head of the Commission for the Site of the Baptism of Christ. Additionally, Bishop Iyad Twal, the Jordanian vicar of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, presided over the celebration and also spoke to those gathered there. All spoke, for the first time so explicitly, of the ambition for a major commemorative project in 2030, marking the 2,000th anniversary of the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan—baptized at the age of 30, at the very beginning of his public ministry.
“There is very strong interest from our king himself, as well as from the prince and the royal family, who have entrusted us with the mission of preparing as a team for this great event,” confides Rustom Makhjian, director of the site. “We must be ready on every level, especially here at the site, in order to welcome millions of pilgrims in 2030,” he said.
The Jordan River, an Axis and a Place of Passage
The country is also counting on this event to revive tourism in Jordan, which has been affected by unrest between neighboring Israel and Palestine. “We need to be fully prepared with hotels, airports, and on-site infrastructure, while at the same time respecting and preserving this holy place that Jesus himself knew, and which we want the world to discover as the fifth Gospel!” said Rustom Makhjian, a charismatic local figure seemingly inhabited by his subject. He noted that this region of Jordan is “a place that teaches and speaks to us.”
“The Jordan is not a border, but an axis and a place of passage that the Bible constantly invites us to cross,” insists Rustom Makhjian. “Joshua from the east toward Jericho, Elijah in the opposite direction, John the Baptist coming from the west and settling on this bank… And of course, Jesus!” he recalls. “To relive Christ’s journey and allow ourselves to be encountered by him, it can be good to begin one’s pilgrimage at the site of Bethany Beyond the Jordan, to renew one’s baptism in the Holy Spirit and then set out again toward the holy places on the other side of the Jordan.”