Amman: The Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Tla' al Ali, in collaboration with the Catholic Center for Studies and Media, the Jordan Tourism Board, and JETT tourist transport Company, organized the inaugural pilgrimage to the archaeological site of Umm al-Jimal. This event marked the site's new status as a world heritage site, a designation it received last year.

According to Jordan News Agency, Umm al-Jimal Mayor Hassan al-Ruhaibeh welcomed the pilgrimage and provided participants with a briefing on the site's historical significance. Umm al-Jimal, a rural settlement in northern Jordan, developed organically around the 5th century CE on the remains of an earlier Roman settlement. Among its key landmarks is a renowned cathedral built in 557 AD, which historically attracted pilgrims from dioceses in Jordan, Syria, and Palestine.

During the visit, participants gathered at the cathedral to hold prayers and reflect on its storied past. Father Rifaat Bader commended the collective efforts that led to Umm al-Jimal's inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List on July 23, 2024. It is now the seventh site in Jordan to receive this honor. He also reminisced about the historic mass held at the cathedral in 2014, led by Patriarch Fouad Twal, and the visit of Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros Al-Rai.

Bader expressed his hope that July 23 would become an annual celebration for Umm al-Jimal, featuring masses and attracting both local and international pilgrims. The participants were educated about the site's history, affectionately known as the "Black Oasis," where Christianity thrived between 324 and 636 AD. The site faced abandonment due to a plague outbreak and a devastating earthquake in 747 AD, which left it in ruins for over 1,100 years until its gradual repopulation in 1935.

This pilgrimage is part of a series organized by the Sacred Heart Parish to various holy sites in Jordan, including Mar Elias, Our Lady of the Mount, Al-Maghtas Baptism site, Mount Nebo, among others.