The waters of the Jordan River in the hands of His Holiness the Pope

For nearly ten years, I have had the honor to participate in the establishment and launching of the “Platform for Dialogue and Cooperation among Diverse Religious Leaders and Institutions in the Arab World” which is affiliated with the King Abdullah Ibn Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID) that was established in 2012 and was initially headquartered in Vienna, Austria, before later moving to Lisbon, Portugal.

The founding meetings were held in Jordan in 2017, which were followed by a series of meetings, conferences, and initiatives in a number of Arab countries and others. These meetings brought together Muslim and Christian leaders and institutions around the same table as part of an ongoing institutional process aimed at promoting dialogue, citizenship, and peaceful common living. Next year, the platform is preparing the ground to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its launching.

Last week, members of the Platform held a meeting in the Italian capital, Rome, in the presence of the secretary general of KAICIID as well as a number of religious figures and leaders, within a framework of cooperation with the relevant authorities of the Holy See. The following day, members of the Platform participated in the public audience with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV in the Holy See.

The Pope welcomed the members of the Platform and assured them of his prayers that their efforts would bear fruit in promoting peaceful common living in the Arab region. His words were not merely a fleeting greeting, but rather an expression of clear appreciation for the efforts exerted by the Platform to bring together Muslim and Christian religious leaders and institutions and to consolidate dialogue, cooperation, and common living.

After the public audience, the members of the delegation were given the opportunity to greet His Holiness personally. In my turn, I presented him with a commemorative gift from Jordan, namely a box featuring a mosaic symbolizing the Jordan River and the Baptism Site of Lord Jesus Christ which contained a number of Jordanian products, including water from the Jordan River, along with oil, incense, and a Jordanian silver rosary made by the Spirit of Life for Holy Water Establishment.

I said to His Holiness the Pope, “This water is from the Jordan River,” and told him about Jordan’s preparations to mark in 2030, the 2,000th anniversary of the baptism of Lord Jesus Christ in the Jordan River. He replied that he was aware of these preparations. When I said to him, “We hope to see you soon in Jordan,” he replied, “I hope so too.”

Of course, these words do not constitute an official invitation, as a visit by the Pontiff to any country is subject to established diplomatic and ecclesiastical procedures. His Majesty King Abdullah II had previously invited the Pope to visit Jordan during His Majesty’s visit to the Vatican at the end of last year, when he invited His Holiness the Pope “to visit the Baptism Site” as the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, headed by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, also plays an essential role in this regard.

I was very pleased yesterday by the visit carried out by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al-Hussein Ibn Abdullah to the Baptism Site, accompanied by His Royal Highness Prince Ghazi Ibn Muhammad. This visit reaffirms the importance of undertaking preparations for the year 2030, and I am certain that it will bear several fruits in the days ahead. I am also confident that Jordan will feature prominently in any future papal visit to the Holy Land, given the Biblical and holy sites it possesses, foremost among them is the Baptism Site of Lord Jesus Christ. We, therefore, look forward with hope to a visit by the Pope to Jordan, whether before 2030 as part of the preparations or as part of the celebrations marking this historic occasion.

I returned from Rome with two beautiful images, namely one of Muslims and Christians gathering before the head of the Catholic Church, and another of the waters of the Jordan River in the hands of His Holiness the Pope.