Fr. Hanna Kildani made remarks on Thursday, September 15, on the stages which led to the construction of the Martyrs of Jordan Church. Following are excerpts of his address:

Your Beatitude, dear guests,

The building of Martyrs of Jordan Church was launched in 2006 by Monsignor Salim Sayegh and the late Jamil Naber who donated a large amount of money to start the project.

The family of Jamil Naber, who is living in New York, backed the project--particularly Mrs. Naber, her sons, Shafiq Naber, the parishioners and friends of the parish, as well as associations and individuals, such as Knights of the Holy Sepulcher, Latens Deitas Foundation and LDS Charities. On behalf of the parish and parishioners I thank them all.

Building a church is a sign of the local church maturity and responsibility. It is a clear sign of the stability of Jordan, mainly in the last five years in which the region lived through the destructive effects of the Arab Spring.

Features of our church reflect our deep roots in the Holy Land and the universality of the Church. The beauty of this Church is for glory of God “Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam”

- Stained glass of the altar was made in Lebanon. Behind St John Baptist the patron of Jordan is the castle of Makawer while his head rests on the Jordanian mosaic. Saints Zainoun and Zenas two martyrs of Jordan in 304. Under the portrait of the two saints the amphitheater of Amman and the Jordanian mosaic are seen.

- Crucifix, Stained glass of the windows and bells of the church from Germany.

- Icons of the church include saints of the Catholic Church; Emilie de Villard, St. Charbel, St Marie Alphonsine, St. Pope John Paul Second, St. Mary of Jesus Crucified, St. Francis and St Madre Theresa. On the two aisles of the church common saints of the Orthodox and Catholic Church who lived in our country in the first century of Christianity, namely St. John of Damascus, St. Damien of Petra, St. Elian of Amman, St. Mokhimos of Philadelphia, St. Mary of Egypt and St. Grasimos of Jordan. The church is decorated with four coats of arms, namely the Holy See, Pope Francis, Patriarch Fouad and Knights of the Holy Sepulcher.

- The altar and pulpits were made for the papal visit of Pope Benedict to Jordan.