A Jordanian youth delegation has met in the French touristic city of Lourdes with its new bishop Jean Marc Micas who was named to this position two months ago. The Jordanian delegation conveyed well wishes to him on the confidence expressed to him by His Holiness Pope Francis regarding this nomination as he was also ordained a bishop on May 19, 2022 to the French Diocese of Tarbes and Lourdes.

The Jordanian delegation, led by Director of the Catholic Center for Studies and Media in Jordan Fr. Dr. Rif'at Bader, recalled the visit undertaken by his predecessor Bishop Nicolas Brouwet in September 2018 where he visited the grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in Na'our, celebrated a Holy Mass, and met with a number of dignitaries, heads of churches, and tourism functionaries in the Kingdom.

Bishop Micas expressed his desire to visit Jordan, and to encourage Christian pilgrimages to visit France, since Jordan participates annually in the meetings that bring together the various heads of pilgrimages and known as ANDDP. A Jordanian delegation is expected to shortly participate in the annual meeting next October 2022. He said that Jordan abounds with touristic sites, and we always encourage visiting this country. He also hoped that this visit will be planned in the near future in cooperation with the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Patriarchal Vicariate in Amman, and the responsible touristic parties.

The meeting between the Jordanian delegation and the bishop of Lourdes took place on the sidelines of the international days of the annual pilgrimage to the city of Lourdes, as 20,000 people came from France and other countries of the world to commemorate the Assumption of Blessed  Mary, which took place on August 15 and included a number of voluntary programs, especially giving assistance to the sick and the elderly, and helping to pilgrims achieve their noble goals for which they visited the Marian grotto which was opened more than 150 years ago.

In the presence of Maronite Bishop Maroun Naser Gumayel, head of the Pilgrimage Department for delegations coming from the Middle East this year, the delegation consisting of young Jordanian men and women, who came to participate for a week, met with named Cardinal Jean-Marc Avellin, archbishop of Marseille, who was named by His Holiness Pope Francis as a cardinal and will officially receive the cardinal title on August 27. He expressed his appreciation for the Christians of the East, and his hopes that they would fulfill their achievements and civilizational contributions to serve their societies.