Jordan åpner stedet for Jesu dåp

AMMAN, Jordan (CWNews.com) - Thousands of pilgrims flocked to the site of Christ's baptism on the Jordan River today as Jordan officially opened the location.

Jordan has prepared the site for two years in anticipation of a crush of pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land during the Jubilee Year. Pope John Paul II is also expected to visit the site during a visit to the region in March.

Jordanian archaeologists, whose claims are supported by leading Christian clerics, say a cluster of old Byzantine churches and mosaics recently unearthed prove the site called Wadi Kharrar is where Jesus was baptized. Others claim that a site in Israel close to the sea of Galilee is the real site of Jesus' baptism.

Catholic World News Service Daily News Briefs