Jesuits in the Other Holy Land

The final vows of Fr Magdi-Nazmi on 22 September, in Egypt, were an occasion of rejoicing for the small Jesuit Community in Amman. As of 2023, our community is made up of three Jesuits: Fr Bimal Kerketta, who is the superior and pastor of the Sacred Heart Parish, Fr Magdi-Nazmi, the director of the Jesuit Center and treasurer, and Fr Joseph Cassar, who manages Jesuit properties in Iraq and is, as of 1 June, the minister.

Some 150-200 women and men of different nationalities and from different faith backgrounds, including many young people, pass through the Jesuit Center on most days of the week. Starting with the daily morning Mass in English to the daytime and evening courses and meetings organised or hosted by the Jesuit Center, the eclectic mix of activities reflects the two main undertakings of the Jesuits in Jordan—that is, the Jesuit Center and the Sacred Heart Parish—as well as the Jesuit Refugee Service, which runs a number of adult education courses in the JRS e-learning center located in the garden of the Jesuit Center.

While discernment on the mission of the Jesuits in Jordan continues to be a work in progress, since the beginning of 2023, the Jesuit Center is hosting a twice weekly certificate programme for the catechetical formation of teachers in Catholic Schools, implemented in collaboration with Bethlehem University. Fr Magdi is a member of the board for this programme. In October, at the request of auxiliary bishop Jamal Khader, of the Latin Patriarchal Vicariate of Jordan, the Jesuit Center will launch a course for the formation of Catholic lay persons. Jesuits from the PRO province will travel to Jordan to deliver this programme for one or two weekends per month over the coming nine months.
Bible courses held at the Center or in the parishes, as well as English language and conversation classes continue to be standard features of the yearly programme of activities.

The Sacred Heart Parish is a personal non-territorial parish for English-speaking Catholics in Jordan. Currently, the main activities are the Sunday Mass in English, held on Saturday evenings in the Church of Mary of Nazareth in Swefieh and on Sunday evenings in the Chapel of the Jesuit Center, as well as the daily morning Mass, also in the Chapel of the Center. Although officially English-speaking, the Sacred Heart Parish community is very international and welcomes Catholics and other Christians from all continents who are based in Amman for work or family reasons, as well as Jordanians married to spouses from other countries. With the exception of a small but stable nucleus of parishioners, the community is characterised by regular turnover as people rotate into and out of Amman-based positions. A signature lay-led activity of the Sacred Heart Parish is the weekly Bible Study Group, attended by some 25-35 women—mostly Jordanians—and hosted by one of the long-time parishioners in her home.

During this summer, much needed and extensive work was carried out to repair leaking roofs and upgrade some of the common facilities at the Jesuit Center. More importantly, we hope that the ongoing discernment process will give fresh impetus to the mission of the Jesuits in this other Holy Land.

P. Joseph Cassar, S.J.