On the last Thursday in October, the Custody of the Holy Land commemorated the Baptism of the Lord on the western bank of the Jordan River, as is custom.
The celebration was presided over by Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Custos of the Holy Land. Others present were Mgr. Peter Ingham, Bishop of Wollongong (Australia); Mgr. Rodolfo Cetoloni OFM, Bishop of Montepulciano-Chiusi-Pienza (Italy); Br. Franceso Bravi, who was there as a canonical visitor; his secretary Br. Gabriel Garcia; a number of priests; and a gathering of both local Christians and pilgrims.
The annual Mass celebration allows the faithful to reaffirm their promises of baptism at the place where Christ was baptized by John the Baptist. This year, the celebration also included the baptism of Jonathan, the son of Jacob, one of the Kawas of the Custody. (The Kawas are the heirs of the Turkish militia of the Ottoman Empire. It appears to be the case that since the 1950s, all the Kawas of the Custody – who have always worn traditional Ottoman habits – have been Christians.)
After the celebration, the faithful were able to observe the construction work being done on the Israeli side of the river. The last project that still needs to be completed is that of decontaminating the water.
Some of the pilgrims stayed back along the riverbank, while the Franciscans of the Custody, followed by some of the faithful, went back to their bus to go to the Mount of Temptation on their second pilgrimage of the day, this time to commemorate the temptation of Christ in the desert.
They went to an Orthodox monastery where Christians have been gathering to remember the temptation story from the Gospel since the fourth century. At the entrance to the sanctuary, the Franciscans read the passage from the Gospel of Matthew (chapter 4, verses 1-11), and then the custodial vicar, Br. Artemio Vítores, gave a blessing before the pilgrims scattered throughout the convent. Some of them toured the location, while others admired a replica of the peak of the mountain on which Jesus was tempted by the Devil. Our Orthodox brothers offered the visitors some beverages, so many of them were able to quench their thirst somewhat before heading back home.
Mab
The celebration was presided over by Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Custos of the Holy Land. Others present were Mgr. Peter Ingham, Bishop of Wollongong (Australia); Mgr. Rodolfo Cetoloni OFM, Bishop of Montepulciano-Chiusi-Pienza (Italy); Br. Franceso Bravi, who was there as a canonical visitor; his secretary Br. Gabriel Garcia; a number of priests; and a gathering of both local Christians and pilgrims.
The annual Mass celebration allows the faithful to reaffirm their promises of baptism at the place where Christ was baptized by John the Baptist. This year, the celebration also included the baptism of Jonathan, the son of Jacob, one of the Kawas of the Custody. (The Kawas are the heirs of the Turkish militia of the Ottoman Empire. It appears to be the case that since the 1950s, all the Kawas of the Custody – who have always worn traditional Ottoman habits – have been Christians.)
After the celebration, the faithful were able to observe the construction work being done on the Israeli side of the river. The last project that still needs to be completed is that of decontaminating the water.
Some of the pilgrims stayed back along the riverbank, while the Franciscans of the Custody, followed by some of the faithful, went back to their bus to go to the Mount of Temptation on their second pilgrimage of the day, this time to commemorate the temptation of Christ in the desert.
They went to an Orthodox monastery where Christians have been gathering to remember the temptation story from the Gospel since the fourth century. At the entrance to the sanctuary, the Franciscans read the passage from the Gospel of Matthew (chapter 4, verses 1-11), and then the custodial vicar, Br. Artemio Vítores, gave a blessing before the pilgrims scattered throughout the convent. Some of them toured the location, while others admired a replica of the peak of the mountain on which Jesus was tempted by the Devil. Our Orthodox brothers offered the visitors some beverages, so many of them were able to quench their thirst somewhat before heading back home.
Mab