On the evening of Sunday 12 January, during his mission in Jordan, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, visited the Shrine of Mount Nebo, in the care of the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land.

He was accompanied by the Nuncio in Jordan, Mons. Giovanni Pietro Dal Toso, and Mons. Marco Formica, an official of the Vatican Secretariat of State. The Custos of the Holy Land, Fra Francesco Patton, Fra Rashid Mistrih, Fra Ammar Shaeen and two young friars of the Custody, Fra Prince and Fra Gerald, were there to welcome them.

The visit to the site and the Mass

After a quick visit to the site, the group was able to admire the treasures inside the basilica, in particular the restored Byzantine mosaics. This was followed by the Eucharist of the Sunday of the Baptism of the Lord.

In addition to the friars of the Custody, about ten Dossetian religious and a couple of nuns from Sermig, the collaborators of the Nunciature in Jordan and a young Iraqi Christian, were also present.

In his homily (full text attached), the Cardinal recalled both the event of the Baptism of Jesus at the centre of the Sunday liturgy and the figure of Moses who (from his holy mountain “orients our gaze upwards, towards the achievement of all the promises of God in Christ.” Lastly, he indicated the topic of hope, the leitmotif of the year of the Jubilee which has just started.

La labor de la Custodia

En la celebración, vivida de manera recogida y familiar, el cardenal Parolin agradeció a los frailes de la Custodia de Tierra Santa su recibimiento y el cuidado con el que custodian los santos lugares, y subrayó el valor de esta labor citando al santo papa Juan Pablo II: “La concreción física de la tierra y sus coordenadas geográficas, son una sola cosa con la verdad de la carne humana asumida por el Verbo” (Carta del Jubileo 2000, n. 3)

La celebración fue seguida de una cena fraternal en el refectorio del Nebo, con la presencia de la ministra jordana de Turismo, Lina Ennab. Durante la comida, el Custodio y los frailes pudieron poner al día al Secretario de Estado sobre la situación de los cristianos en Tierra Santa y sobre las dificultades que la propia Custodia tiene que afrontar en este periodo. Al final, se intercambiaron regalos y las últimas palabras de agradecimiento y de despedida por parte del Custodio de Tierra Santa y del cardenal Parolin. 

By custodia.org