Amman, Jan 7 (Petra) — Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, personal envoy of Pope Francis, will lead the inauguration and consecration ceremony of the Church of the Baptism of the Lord at the Baptism Site on Friday.

The envoy is the second top-ranking Holy See figure to visit Jordan, after the historic trip of Pope Francis on May 24-25, 2014, noted Father Rifaat Bader, official spokesman for the inauguration.

At the time, Parolin headed the Vatican delegation accompanying the Pontiff on his fourth papal trip to the Kingdom, Bader said in a statement Tuesday.

“The Church of Baptism is the largest in the world with the name “Baptism”, the holiest for being the closest to the eternal Jordan River, and one of the largest in the Middle East,” he said.

After the inauguration, the church will join the constellation of historical and important churches in the Holy Land, namely the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth, Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, and Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, as well its adoption as a pilgrimage site in the 2025 Jubilee year of the annual pilgrimage, which is commemorated by the Catholic Church across the world, said Bader.

//Petra//SS

07/01/2025 18:06:33