It was, to quote a headline from an Amman newspaper, "a religious affair with political overtones". But, as with his visit to Egypt recently, another country where Muslims are by far the majority, the arrival of Pope John Paul in Jordan was also a pleasantly relaxed affair with a young king new to office playing respectful host to one of the longest-serving leaders in the world.
Neither age nor religious difference came between them as both men were warm and generous towards each other. "A unique and emotional moment that brings closer the meaning of tolerance and co-existence from a distant land of dreams," was how King Abdullah II rather grandiloquently described the event. It was "a moment that witnesses a pilgrimage by a holy man to a crossroads of history and geography, where religion started, and civilisation first emerged," he continued.
Not a unique sentiment in Jordan. Among the many banners welcoming the Pope all over Amman yesterday was one which read: "Welcome to Jordan, land of Baptism and Salvation."
For his part the Pope prayed that God would grant the king "happiness and a long life!" (the Pope's exclamation mark) He recalled how "hospitality and openness" were qualities of the Jordanian people he had experienced many times in conversations with the late King Hussein. Those same qualities had been confirmed for him at a meeting with King Abdullah in the Vatican last September, he said.
Jordan has a population of approximately 200,000 Christians among its slightly fewer than five million people. And of that estimated 5 per cent, about 28,000 are Roman Catholic. Another 32,000 Greek Melkite Catholics are also loyal to Rome. The remaining Christians are made up of about 100,000 Greek Orthodox and members of the Reformed churches.
All of which probably underlines the "pilgrimage" nature of the Pope's visit. He explained yesterday that from the beginning of his papacy he had "a great desire" to mark the 2,000th anniversary of Christ's birth "by praying in some of the places linked to salvation history . . ." And now he was in Jordan, "a land sanctified by the presence of Jesus himself . . ."
King Abdullah assured the Pope he knew "the spiritual nourishment that this [pilgrimage] brings, for I too have been blessed by God, who enabled me to submit to him along with millions of believers in Mecca last week". If proof were needed there he was pictured on the front page of the Jordan Times yesterday as he touched the Kaaba holy stone in Mecca during the pilgrimage.
