The son of Queen Rania and heir to the Jordanian throne visited the site of Jesus’ baptism

(ZENIT News / Jordan, 09.21.2026).- Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II visited Al-Maghtas, the site traditionally identified with the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist, on September 13 and called for careful planning of the celebrations that will mark the 2,000th anniversary of Christ’s baptism in 2033.

The date is still 7 years away, but the significance of the occasion is already shaping preparations at the Jordanian site. According to the Royal Hashemite Court, the Crown Prince directed that improvements be made to the Baptism Site so that pilgrims and other Christian visitors can have a richer experience. He also stressed the need to promote the location more widely, in coordination with Jordan’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the Jordan Tourism Board and other partners.

The ambition is not simply to prepare a large anniversary event. Jordan is seeking to strengthen the place of Al-Maghtas within the global map of Christian pilgrimage, presenting it not merely as an archaeological destination but as a living place of faith whose importance reaches back to the opening of Jesus’ public ministry.

The site, known in the Bible as Bethany beyond the Jordan, has acquired substantial archaeological significance. Excavations have uncovered the remains of churches, chapels, hermits’ caves and a baptistery, providing tangible evidence of centuries of Christian worship and pilgrimage associated with the baptism tradition. UNESCO inscribed the area on its World Heritage List in 2015.

Its importance has also been underscored by the modern papacy. Three popes have visited the site: John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis. Their presence reflects the place’s particular importance for Christians seeking to connect the biblical narrative with a physical landscape that has preserved traces of an ancient Christian presence.

During his visit, Crown Prince Al Hussein was briefed on the services currently provided to pilgrims and visitors. He was accompanied by Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad, the King’s chief adviser for religious and cultural affairs and personal envoy, who also chairs the board of trustees of the Baptism Site Commission, as well as Princess Miriam Ghazi and senior officials from the tourism ministry, the Crown Prince’s office and the Baptism Site Commission.

The choice of language surrounding the 2030 anniversary is significant. The Royal Court said the celebrations should reflect the “deep history” of the place and the occasion while reaffirming Jordan’s position as a leading destination for Christian pilgrimage worldwide.

For a country in which Christians form a minority, the Baptism Site also offers Jordan an unusual bridge between religious heritage and its broader identity as a custodian of places important to Christianity. The preparations therefore carry implications beyond tourism: they concern how a biblical site is preserved, interpreted and made accessible to the millions of Christians for whom the baptism of Jesus remains a foundational event.

The anniversary will also provide an opportunity to draw attention to a landscape in which archaeology and pilgrimage reinforce rather than compete with one another. At Al-Maghtas, the remains of ancient Christian communities stand close to a place venerated because of an event at the beginning of Christ’s public life.

By 2030, two millennia will have passed according to the traditional chronology of Jesus’ baptism. Jordan’s early preparations suggest that it intends the anniversary to be more than a commemorative date on the Christian calendar. It is already being conceived as an invitation to rediscover the Jordan River as one of the places where the story of Christianity began.

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