Your Excellency Dr. Emad Hijazeen, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities,

Your Eminence Heads of the Catholic Churches in Jordan,

His Excellency Archbishop Giovanni Pietro Dal Toso,   Apostolic Nuncio for Jordan,

Media personnel,

Brothers at the Baptism Site Commission,

Good morning, with by wishes for a blessed new year to all.

We gather again today to commemorate the Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ in this place which is abounding with holiness and cordiality. This year's celebration takes place after the elapse of one year marking the dedication of this Church, when we  had celebrated with His Eminence Cardinal Pietro Parolin and a large number of heads of churches the inauguration of this church, for which we thank God, and which has since become a venue for several of our spiritual and ecclesiastical celebrations.

This gathering takes place after the universal Church's celebration of the Jubilee 2025, marking 2,000 years since the birth of Lord Jesus Christ, which is an occasion that exudes beauty that the Church marked throughout the world. Over 33 million pilgrims visited the Vatican last year, passing through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, which is a remarkable number that underlines the world's thirst for hope and faith.

This celebration also takes place after the election of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, who currently holds meetings with cardinals from around the world, including His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Patriarch of Jerusalem, who conveys to you his greetings and blessings marking the advent of the new year.

This meeting also takes place amidst a restoration of atmospheres of calm and peace, particularly in Palestine and Gaza, which His Beatitude Cardinal Pizzaballah visited a few days ago where he felt a genuine determination for the start of a new life and a hope that this year will witness a durable, true, just, and comprehensive peace. This is what we offer in prayer from this holy place for Jerusalem, for entire Palestine, for our dear people in Gaza, and in all of our holy land.

We pray today that pilgrims would return in great numbers this year. I am delighted to see a number of delegations present with us, especially from the Vatican and from the Philippines, to serve as ambassadors encouraging their friends and communities to come to Jordan. From this premise, we extend a sincere invitation to pilgrims from all over the world saying: Come to the Holy Land, come to the Jordan River, visit this holy place, visit this church, and be blessed by the waters of the Jordan.

I greet you all at the outset of this new year and thank you for your continued cooperation with the Church media outlets and with the Catholic Center for Studies and Media, which organizes this annual conference. We pray that this year would be filled with goodness and blessings.

For our dear Jordan, we invoke all heavenly blessings, and offer prayers for His Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Al-Hussein, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al-Hussein Ibn Abdullah II, the Hashemite family, and the extended Jordanian family, wishing them a new year filled with peace, goodness, and grace. We also commend the assiduous efforts exerted by the Royal Commission for the Baptism Site and its chairman of the Board of Trustees His Royal Highness Prince Ghazi Ibn Muhammad, the Baptism Site Administration, the Ministry of Tourism, the Jordan Tourism Board, and all those in charge of the religious tourism sector in our beloved holy country.