After 50 years the Franciscan friars return to the place of Christ's baptism

For the first time in over 54 years, the Franciscan friars of the Custody of the Holy Land were able to celebrate Mass on their property at baptism, located in the West Bank.

Mass for the feast of the Baptism of the Lord was celebrated in the church of St. John the Baptist in Qasr Al-Yahud, a shrine built in 1956 and located on the banks of the Jordan River.

Franciscan friars of the Custody of the Holy Land have owned the 135-acre site since 1632, but were forced to flee in 1967, when war broke out between Israel and Jordan.

Israeli authorities reopened the site to pilgrims in 2011, but demining of the area only started in March 2018, ending in October of the same year.

In October 2020 the keys were returned to the Franciscan friars, who were able to begin the cleaning and restoration process necessary to make it safe for pilgrims.

Before the mass on January 10, the Franciscans moved from the Greek Orthodox monastery of St. John to their land. Fr Francesco Patton, Custos of the Holy Land, opened the gates of the site, which had been closed for over 50 years.

The last mass offered at the shrine was on 7 January 1967. "They were an English priest, Fr Robert Carson, and a Nigerian priest, Fr Silao Umah", who said the mass, Fr. Patton said in his homily on January 10. The priests signed their name on a shrine register that was recovered in 2018.

"Today, 54 years and 3 days later, we could say at the beginning of the 55th year since this register was closed, at the end of this Eucharistic celebration, we will reopen this same register, we will turn the page and on a new page we can write the date today, January 10, 2021, and sign with our names, to testify that this place, which had been transformed into a battlefield, a minefield, is once again a field of peace, a field of prayer, "he said Patton.

The mass was followed by a second procession to an altar directly on the bank of the Jordan River, where the friars read a passage from the Book of Kings. Custos P. Patton then dipped his bare feet in the river.

Leonardo Di Marco, director of the technical office of the Custody of the Holy Land, said that "urgent work has been done to make the place suitable for today's celebration of Baptism".

"We aim to reopen to pilgrims, who will be able to find places to stop and meditate in a corner of prayer that will be created around the central church nestled in a palm garden".

Due to the restrictions of COVID-19, a limit of about 50 people attended the Mass. Bishop Leopoldo Girelli, Apostolic Nuncio to Israel and Cyprus, and Apostolic Delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine were present, together with representatives of the Israeli military authorities.

The pastor of the parish of Jericho, Fr. Mario Hadchity, welcomed the friars to their land. “We are very happy, on this special day, that the Custody of the Holy Land, with God's help, after more than half a century, has managed to return to the Latin church of San Giovanni Battista,” he said. "May it be a place where all who enter meet the grace of God"