A vast area in the desert that leads to the river Jordan, memory of events from the Old Testament and revered for centuries, like the site of the Baptism of Jesus. To get to the banks of the river, to the site known as “Qasr Al Yaud”, inaugurated in 2011 by Israel, we go down a street, where ruins of chapels are seen on both sides, inaccessible, until recently, between barriers and mine fields. On Wednesday, October 31st, on the occasion of the first phase of mine clearance operations, Fr. Francesco Patton, Custos of the Holy Land, visited the ruins of the Franciscan chapel, built in 1935 and abandoned following the 1967 war. For Fr. Patton, one very important day. Fr. FRANCESCO PATTON, ofm Custos of the Holy Land I would say that the importance is twofold on a very human, practical level. Clearing landmines is always a good thing, we know that mines are terrible weapons, clearing mines from a field is always a good thing because it means transforming a battlefield into a peace camp. Fr. FRANCESCO PATTON, ofm Custos of the Holy Land Then for us it is particularly important because here we are on the banks of the River Jordan; and this is the site linked to the event of the baptism of Jesus. Fr. SERGEY LOKTIONOV, ofm Technical Office Manager Thank God, the mine clearing is over; the site is clean. We have just been inside, we have visited the site. Also last week, we had the opportunity to visit the site with architects and engineers and see the conditions. Now we are preparing the preliminary and executive project to restore the site so the pilgrims can visit. RONEN SHIMOLI Project Manager of “Halo Trust” For “Halo Trust” it is an honor, and it was a challenge to clear this site of land mines. We still have some work to do to declare a few square meters clear, but we will not stop until the completion of this mission. It is an honor to demine and be able to give back the third most important site in the world to everyone. “Halo Trust” is an organization founded in 1988 dedicated to the demining of the territories. An organization that has long been involved in this area, to promote and implement a project that has the flavor of "freedom". For the Custos of the Holy Land it is also a sign of hope. Fr. FRANCESCO PATTON, ofm Custos of the Holy Land And if one day, it will be possible to move around the whole site freely, it will be even more significant because we could go beyond Jordan, (...) making this gesture, which is in memory of Easter as well as the baptism of Jesus which also reminds us of the passage of the chosen people of God into the Holy Land, but also recalls the passage of Elijah and Elisha and also the passage of Jesus and the apostles who moved freely from one bank to another. Read More