Christ’s baptism site must remain living place of encounter with God, Cardinal Pizzaballa says
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa stressed that Christ’s baptism is an eternal event that continues to speak to believers, not just a historical memory. He delivered the remarks during a gathering hosted by King Abdullah II of Jordan at the traditional baptism site, Bethany Beyond the Jordan, on May 18. King Abdullah announced that the Jordanian government will support an initiative to commemorate the 2,000th anniversary of Christ’s baptism in 2030 and upgrade the site. The baptism site was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2015, underscoring its universal spiritual significance. Construction of the Latin church at the site began 17 years ago, with the foundation stone blessed by Pope Benedict XVI during his pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
4 months ago
Christ’s baptism site in Jordan is being prepared for a 2030 Jubilee marking the 2,000th anniversary of Jesus’ baptism. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, urged that the holy place remain a “living” encounter with God, while King Abdullah II pledged governmental support for infrastructure upgrades and pilgrim services. The initiative aims to deepen the spiritual meaning of baptism, strengthen Christian unity, and present the site as a beacon of reconciliation and peace in the Middle East 1 2.
Cardinal Pizzaballa spoke at a gathering hosted by King Abdullah II on May 18 at Bethany Beyond the Jordan, the traditional location of Christ’s baptism 1 2.
The meeting announced the launch of preparations for the 2030 Jubilee, which will commemorate the baptism’s 2,000‑year anniversary 1 2.
The Jordanian government will fund upgrades to the baptism site’s infrastructure, visitor facilities, and staff training 1 2.
King Abdullah emphasized his personal oversight of the project, highlighting Jordan’s role in protecting holy sites and supporting the Christian presence in the region 1 2.
Pizzaballa described Christ’s baptism as an “eternal event” that continues to speak to believers 1 2.
He called for the site to be a “living place” where pilgrims encounter God rather than merely observe a historic location 1 2.
He also praised Jordan’s leadership as a bridge of faith that can foster peace worldwide 1 2.
Bethany Beyond the Jordan lies on the eastern bank of the Jordan River opposite Jericho in the West Bank 1 2.
UNESCO inscribed the site on its World Heritage List in 2015, recognizing its universal spiritual importance 1 2.
Archaeological remains of ancient churches and monasteries testify to centuries of Christian devotion, while modern pilgrims continue to gather for liturgies and prayer 1 2.
Church leaders view the Jubilee as a historic chance to strengthen Christian unity and renew the meaning of baptism 1 2.
They stress the need for local preparation, global engagement with churches, and the presentation of the site as a symbol of reconciliation and hope 1 2.
The initiative is framed as a testimony to faith, coexistence, and the potential for religious sites to promote regional peace 1 2.
Preserve Christ’s baptism site as living encounter with God
Preserving Christ’s Baptism site as a living encounter with God means more than protecting stones or maintaining a tourist attraction: it requires safeguarding the site’s spiritual purpose as a place where the faithful remember God’s past action, experience His present presence, and receive hope for fulfillment—culminating in personal conversion and renewed baptismal life.
A Christian shrine is described as a sacred Christian space where believers “encounter God” and “receive salvation through Word, liturgy, and devotion.” That definition is crucial for how to “preserve” a place: the site must remain capable of doing what shrines are for—turning memory into worship and worship into transformation.
This shrine theology is explicitly threefold:
So preserving Christ’s Baptism site as “living” means ensuring it continues to function as an instrument of all three dimensions, not merely a historical landmark.
John Paul II’s pilgrimage to Al-Maghtas (place of Christ’s Baptism) interprets geography through salvation history. He evokes Jesus coming to the Jordan to be baptized, and then he folds in the larger paschal trajectory—Jesus on the way to the Holy City “where he would die and rise again.” The result is not nostalgia; it is a liturgical and moral reading of the site as a gateway to the mystery of Christ.
Benedict XVI likewise frames Baptism as a divine action that makes Christ “accessible” to us—calling Baptism “the bridge he built between himself and us, the road on which he makes himself accessible to us.” This matters for a preserved site: the Jordan-place should lead pilgrims toward encounter with Christ, not only toward recollection of events.
A common danger in religious tourism is to treat a sacred spot as if the sacredness were located only in matter. The Church’s baptismal theology pushes back: in Christ’s Baptism, what saves is not water as a physical object, but God’s saving action through the Spirit.
Gregory of Nyssa teaches that Baptism is “purification from sins” and “remission of trespasses,” and that regeneration is accomplished not by water’s mere physical capacity but by God’s command and the Spirit’s visitation, which comes “sacramentally to set us free.” Gregory’s argument is clear: water “serves to express the cleansing,” while the decisive power is God’s.
This supports the “living encounter” goal: preserving the site means preserving the sacramental and Trinitarian meaning that the site signifies—so that visitors are drawn into awe and faith rather than into empty symbolism.
Pope Francis, when speaking near the Jordan at the site where the Spirit descended “with power on Jesus” after His baptism, summarizes the Spirit’s actions in us: the Spirit “prepares, anoints and sends.”
This directly clarifies what “living encounter” should look like in practice:
A preserved site, therefore, should not merely be “available” but spiritually effective—helping pilgrims move from historical awareness into Spirit-driven renewal.
The word “encounter” implies personal appropriation. John Paul II states that “in Baptism every Christian personally meets him; he is inserted into the mystery of Christ’s death and resurrection and receives a new life, which is the life of God.”
Likewise, he insists this is a gift that becomes responsibility: “What a great gift and what a great responsibility!”
And John Paul II’s teaching to bishops connects Baptismal renewal to Christian perseverance: a “new awareness of their Baptismal identity and Christian dignity” helps the faithful face the challenges of Christian living with “confidence and hope,” persevering “in the call of their Baptism to share in the Paschal Mystery of Christ.”
Therefore, to preserve Christ’s Baptism site as a living encounter with God is also to preserve its ability to reactivate baptismal identity—not only for people who came to the Jordan but for those who may never travel there, by ensuring the site’s witness remains catechetical and evangelizing.
Benedict XVI emphasizes the baptism connected to John the Baptist as “one of repentance,” an invitation to “conversion” because it is impossible to aspire to a new world while remaining “immersed in selfishness and habits linked to sin.”
This gives an important criterion for preservation: a shrine is living when it continues to summon hearts to conversion, not when it becomes solely aesthetic or informational.
At the same time, the Baptism feast is framed as hope: Benedict XVI calls Baptism “the door of hope” and “the promise of God’s great ‘yes.’” This hope should remain tangible at the site—through prayer and liturgy that lift people out of despair and into a renewed relationship with God.
Drawing directly from the shrine theology, preserving the site involves maintaining the conditions for:
John Paul II’s own words about Al-Maghtas highlight how the site’s “memory” should also become “promise.” That is exactly the “living encounter” logic: what happened at the Jordan should awaken what God wants to do now, in view of what He will fulfill.
To preserve Christ’s Baptism site as a living encounter with God is to protect its sacramental meaning—so pilgrims experience not only history, but the Spirit’s action that purifies, regenerates, and gives a personal, baptismal life of hope and conversion.