Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
Frequently asked questions
Marj Al Hamam Church Building Project
“Be respectful and loving to these people, because from their midst will rise priests, bishops, patriarchs and builders of churches.” (Patriarch Bracco, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, 19th century)
Welcome dear brothers and sisters…
Greetings, love and peace to you……
May we show you our plans for building a new Catholic Church at Marj Alhamam? We hope that you can give us support and help. The answers to the following questions will give you a clearer overview of our aims as well as more details.
In the foreground of the photo can be seen the Latin Convent of Marj Alhamam. The site of the planned church is on the raised hillock in the garden behind the convent; between the convent (lower down) and the road (higher up) inside the red lines.
Q1: Why do you want to build a new church at Marj Alhamam? Surely you have a church already?
The parish of Marj Alhamam was founded in 1986 and the present church is built from of a row of rooms (the kindergarten) opened up through the demolition of the two walls between them. The area of the present church is 250 square metres or more or less equal to that of a high class flat. The new plan is for a practical church building in the style of a traditional basilica. The dimensions are as follows: length 40 metres, width 20 metres, area 800 square metres and height 12.5 metres in the centre and 7 metres at the sides and a belfry with a height of 20 metres. The area of the church will allow up to a maximum of 600 worshippers. The car parks will total some 2000 metres in area. The hall under the church will have the following dimensions: length 40 metres, width 20 metres, height 4.5 metres and an area of 800 metres.
Q2: When will construction of the Church begin?
We began a lot of the planning and preliminary sketch work in May 2006 in the expectation of starting the building work in February 2007. May God, the Lord of all hope, grant this.
Q3: Where is the church situated? Which geographical area and which residential districts will it serve?
The Latin Convent in Marj Alhamam is on a site of 4000 square meters. It is near the junction of the Airport highway with the Radio Station road. The church will serve the district of Marj Alhamam and the stretches of built up areas of the Seventh Circle looking towards the Airport, Madaba and the Radio Station.
Q4: Who is the authority responsible for the finances and management of the project?
The Latin Vicariate in Amman, headed by the Most Rev. Selim Sayegh, is the authority with overall responsibility in cooperation with the Parish Priest of Marj Alhamam, Father Hanna Kildani, and the parishioners to reflect the fact that the church is both the house of God and also the house of His faithful people. The finance department of the Vicariate is responsible for liaison between the Vicariate and the project management. The “Office of Engineer Samir Sa’ad”, and its Director, Mr Samir Sa’ad, are overseeing the management of the construction. The construction will not be the subject of a single contract but of a number of contracts on the basis that all of them will be overseen by the aforementioned engineers.
Q5: What is the cost of the project? Where will the finances come from?
At present the costs of the project amount to more than half a million Jordanian Dinars. We are not in a position to meet all of these immediately. At present we are looking to complete the hall underneath the church delaying fitting out the church which will depend on future resources as they become available.
Our principal benefactors, the late Mr Jamil Khalil Sleiman Naber (RIP) and Mrs Laurice Naber, from our parishioners in the USA, encouraged us to undertake the project and have contributed three hundred thousand dollars to it. There is also no doubt but that the Latin Vicariate and the parishioners of Marj Alhamam with their families and friends will support raising the rest of the amount needed to complete the building. Furthermore we can be sure of two things. Firstly, the Lord will bless our work and show us his favour. Secondly in the past our fellow countrymen have shown their constant generosity and concern by supporting the building of churches as houses of God. Today we turn with them to Him and continue to seek their generosity and to hope in their continued interest and love.
Q6: How do we contribute? Which body do we send contributions to? Do you expect supporters to make large or small donations? Are donations free from income tax?
The Latin Vicariate and Parish of Marj Alhamam are both prepared to receive your donations. Likewise if you give to the parishioners they will give you a receipt for your donation….As for talk of whether donations should be large or small, this is strictly relative. The level of any donation is likely to be determined by two elements: an element where the level is determined by what people can give and an element where love of God determines the level….. But I am sure that Our Lord, just as He praised the poor widow sees both of these. Think of what He said about her very generous and noble gift and think of what praise will be given for generosity and an open heart….“Looking up, he saw rich people putting their offerings into the treasury: and he noticed a poverty stricken widow putting in two small coins, and he said, “I tell you truly, this poor widow has put in more than any of them: for these have all put in money they could spare, but she in her poverty has put in all she had to live on”.” (Luke: 21:1-4) So my dear brother or sister please spare what you can in the spirit of love……
Donations may be made to Marj Alhamam Church at the following bank account:
Latin Church- Marj Alhamam. Jordan Commercial Bank (Al_Fuhais Branch). Account Number: 10/1/1228215. Swift: F01JGBAJOAMA
Once you did your donation through bank account, tell us by writing to: kildani@wanadoo.jo
The income tax position can be set out as follows. Jordanian legislation exempts from income tax whatever is given to places of worship or for good works or for works of mercy on condition that evidence is produced of the donation such as receipts or other documents and the taxpayer is not liable to tax in respect of sums given by him for religious purposes. Such sums are for the general good and for charitable works and there are many examples of them in our country. On another point we are also applying for an exemption under Jordanian law from purchase tax for building supplies and purchases for the project.
The spirit of the history of the Catholic or Latin Church in modern times can be seen by going back to the Ottoman period in the middle of the 19th century. Even commentators of that period recognised that it was a time of poverty, lack of education and disease both in our country and in the rest of the Middle East. But the Church was still faithful then to its mission to the people of Jordan and provided them with a firm spiritual foundation through its priests and its work in building churches, convents, schools, hospitals…etc. At the end of the last quarter of the 19th century, Patriarch Vincento Bracco wrote these words to the parish priest of Karak, Father Alexandro Macagno: “Be respectful and loving to these people, because from their midst will rise priests, bishops, patriarchs and builders of churches.” How close this was to events as they have turned out, thanks be to God! Now we and our countrymen turn to Him and set before you our project to build a new church at Marj al Hamam. Please look favourably on it.
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"One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple". (Ps.27)
