Jordan’s Latin patriarchal vicar calls for unified pilgrimage route across the Holy Land

Bishop Iyad Twal, Latin patriarchal vicar for Jordan and a member of the board of trustees of the Baptism Site Commission, recently affirmed that Jordan is “part of the Holy Land” and described 2030 — marking 2,000 years since Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan — as an opportunity to strengthen the country’s place on the Christian pilgrimage map.

In an interview with ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, Twal said the holy sites of Jordan and Palestine are connected through a single spiritual journey and stressed that the goal is not competition among countries to attract pilgrims but rather a shared experience of faith in the Holy Land.

Twal said the Church views the Holy Land as the “geography of salvation.” Its sacred sites, he explained, are not merely places to visit but spaces where the faithful can live out a spiritual experience and encounter the local Church.

He emphasized that tourism preparations, investments, and infrastructure development must not overshadow the spiritual dimension of the occasion. Development, he said, should serve the pilgrim’s experience and help pilgrims live it fully rather than turn a holy site into merely a tourist…