The vegetation is dense and lush. Tamarisks, willows, reeds, and Euphrates poplars line the muddy bed of the Jordan . A Catholic church has recently been built, neighboring an Orthodox church and other places of worship of different Christian denominations. Below, a wooden canopy shelters tiered benches adorning the bank of a branch of the river. Nearly 500,000 pilgrims of all denominations visit this site annually, which is under the protection of the Baptism Site Commission. According to the Gospel (John 1:28), this is “Bethany Beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.”

French pilgrims descend the steps to a baptistery, make the sign of the cross, and ascend again, candle in hand, symbolizing the renewal of their baptismal promises. Dominique Desvernois, a deacon from the Archdiocese of Toulouse, visiting with the National Association of Diocesan Pilgrimage Directors, is deeply moved. “The emotion I feel is similar to what I experienced in Jerusalem, at the Holy Sepulchre: this is truly where it happened!”

Not far away, Christine Vesin, director of pilgrimages for the Diocese of Annecy, watches as clouds gather and thunder rumbles. Later, she reflects: “Seeing the sky darken, I was ready to see the dove descend and hear, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,’ which, to me, is the Father’s most beautiful declaration of love to the Son in the Gospels.”

“There is an abyss between John’s baptism and Christian baptism”

A few moments earlier, Auxiliary Bishop Jean-Marie Le Vert of Bordeaux and guide for the pilgrimage explained the difference between the baptism given by St. John the Baptist, a common Jewish ritual cleansing signifying a desire to convert, and the baptism instituted by Christ. “There is an abyss between John’s baptism and Christian baptism,” he said. “John himself points this out when he says, ‘I baptize you with water, but one is coming who is mightier than I, and he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’ John’s baptism cannot give the Spirit.”

Why did Jesus, who was sinless, insist on being baptized by John? “He made himself one with each of us, sinners,” Bishop Le Vert continued. To do this, Jesus came to the Jordan Valley, a river winding in numerous loops from Mount Hermon to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth, 400 meters below sea level. By doing so, he followed in the footsteps of Jews who also crossed the Jordan to be baptized, acknowledging their sins, before crossing back purified to enter the Promised Land.

Before gathering under the canopy arranged for celebrations, the French pilgrims walked a few hundred meters to the place considered to be the exact site of Christ’s baptism. Here, the numerous remains of early religious monuments (churches, baptisteries, monasteries) testify to the influx of pilgrims from the beginnings of Christianity. The site, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2015, includes the most significant remains: a 5th-century church dedicated to John the Baptist, described by the 6th-century pilgrim Theodosius.

The site also preserved the memory of Mary of Egypt, one of the many hermits who settled in nearby caves during the Byzantine era. Born in Alexandria, this former prostitute reportedly followed pilgrims to Jerusalem and converted in the holy city. She then heard a voice calling her to cross the Jordan. Settling at the site of Christ’s baptism, she is said to have lived the last 47 years of her life there.

“We are 9 kilometers north of the Dead Sea, about 5,000 steps,” said Shaher Abo Zaitoon, a local guide. This matched the distance mentioned by the 4th-century Pilgrim of Bordeaux, who meticulously documented his journey to the Holy Land. “The water of the Dead Sea is very bitter, and no fish or boats exist in it; if a man tries to swim, the water pushes him back,” he detailed. “From here to the Jordan, where John baptized our Lord, it is five miles. There is an accessible spot by the river, a small hill at the farthest edge, where Elijah was taken up to heaven.”

The figures of John and Elijah resonate here

Before John the Baptist, “the forerunner,” who “stands at the juncture between two worlds, the Old Covenant and the New Covenant,” explained Father Alain Moster, a biblical scholar and priest of the Diocese of Strasbourg, the site also commemorated Elijah, the 9th-century BCE prophet who also heralded the Messiah. Does not the evangelist Luke affirm that John “will go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1:17)? Jabal Mar Elias, “Elijah’s Hill,” is near the baptism site. From the top of this hill, one can see Jericho on the Israeli side of the river, the city Elijah arrived from before striking the Jordan with his mantle to cross on dry land (2 Kings 2:8). Jericho is currently located in the West Bank.

The figures of these two prophets echo one another. Like Elijah, John withdrew to the desert in his youth, leading an austere life, eating locusts and wild honey. Like Elijah, he wore a leather belt around his waist. John’s rebuke to the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism—“You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?” (Matthew 3:7)—mirrors Elijah’s harsh reprimand to Israel on Mount Carmel: “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God, follow him” (1 Kings 18:21).

“Elijah’s presence here, with his announcement of the Messiah, reinforces that this is a pilgrimage site,” observed Dominique Desvernois, the Toulouse deacon, concluding his visit to this Vatican-recognized holy place, where four popes have made pilgrimages (Paul VI, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis).

“This is one of the most important places for humanity,” said Makram Mustafa Queisi, Jordan’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities. Shaher, the guide, added: “Muslims in this country are proud that the Christian prophet, John the Baptist, lived here and that Jesus healed the sick on this holy land.”

French diocesan pilgrimage directors convene in Jordan

The Royal Commission for the Baptism Site administers the “Bethany Beyond the Jordan” site. Special emphasis is placed on environmental preservation, and the area is maintained as a natural wilderness protected by heritage laws.

The National Association of Diocesan Pilgrimage Directors (ANDDP) held its 75th congress in November 2023, with the theme “Jordan, Holy Land, Land of the Bible." The congress was held in partnership with the Jordan Tourism Board and at the invitation of King Abdullah II of Jordan. In 2019, King Abdullah received the Lamp of St. Francis, the Catholic equivalent of the Nobel Peace Prize, for his efforts in promoting interfaith harmony.