Amanda Borschel-Dan is The Times of Israel s Jewish World and Archaeology editor.
Father Francesco Patton, the Custos of the Holy Land, leads mass on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, at St John the Baptist Chapel on the banks of the Jordan River, January 10, 2021. (COGAT Spokeperson s Office)
Franciscan St John the Baptist Chapel on the banks of the Jordan River, January 10, 2021. (Amanda Borschel-Dan/Times of Israel)
IDF officers escort Father Francesco Patton, the Custos of the Holy Land (center) and Vatican Ambassador to Israel Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli (to his right) to the St John the Baptist Chapel to the banks of the Jordan River, January 10, 2021. (Amanda Borschel-Dan/Times of Israel)