St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church
St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church
St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church
4.5
About
On December 7, 1967 the Vatican recognized the historic Catholic Church in Madaba, belonging to the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, as a Shrine of the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist and urged visitors and pilgrims to visit this sacred site.
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4.5
472 reviews
Excellent
257
Very good
169
Average
38
Poor
5
Terrible
3
CasaRoscoe
Ottawa, Canada254 contributions
Mar 2023 • Couples
The church dates from the late 19th Century. Inside the visitor centre was a fascinating exhibition of photographs dating from 1902 to 1911 that showed priests and nuns standing with all the local schoolchildren, and one can get a good idea of how children looked and dressed at that time. The small basement museum was underwhelming. The best fun, though, was climbing the bell tower on its rickety metal stairs to obtain a great view over the city.
Written 23 March 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
babykong
London, UK1,291 contributions
Apr 2024 • Solo
I really enjoyed my visit to St.John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church, also known as Church of the Beheading of John the Baptist - which is one of the stops on the self guided walking tour of Madaba Archaeological Park.
It was quite surreal walking into a Roman Catholic Church in a Muslim country and hearing recorded church organ music on repeat! I did see signs requesting there be silence in the church, but not one visitor took a blind bit of notice.
Then by stark contrast, in the vaults underneath the church there is the Acropolis Museum, complete with recorded Middle Eastern music! I enjoyed exploring the vaults and seeing the various items on display.
You can also climb the steps of the bell tower, though you don’t really get much of a view at the top as there are four windows to look out of, but the views are obscured by metal fences.
Definitely worth visiting the church itself and the vaults underneath.
It was quite surreal walking into a Roman Catholic Church in a Muslim country and hearing recorded church organ music on repeat! I did see signs requesting there be silence in the church, but not one visitor took a blind bit of notice.
Then by stark contrast, in the vaults underneath the church there is the Acropolis Museum, complete with recorded Middle Eastern music! I enjoyed exploring the vaults and seeing the various items on display.
You can also climb the steps of the bell tower, though you don’t really get much of a view at the top as there are four windows to look out of, but the views are obscured by metal fences.
Definitely worth visiting the church itself and the vaults underneath.
Written 22 April 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
LaNyonsaise
West Midlands, UK1,041 contributions
Apr 2023 • Couples
Although the church is fairly modern, there are some fascinating archeological features to explore that make the modest entry fee of 1JD (not included in the Jordan Pass) worthwhile. There are ancient tunnels, a well and a water channel below ground and a sanctuary dedicated to St John the Baptist. The photographic display in the ticket office was very interesting showing Madaba in the early 20th century and the pupils of the school looking very serious but the mosaic nearby is a replica. Only the most nimble should consider climbing the vertigo inducing bell tower, which finishes in a slender ladder and has a flimsy rail around the platform, despite the prospect of a fine view of the town.
Written 18 May 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Darshana Ratnayake
Amman, Jordan2,082 contributions
Aug 2020 • Friends
Another awesome and well historical church in madaba city . Just a 500m from tje city center . 1JD entrance fee . Then you go underneath the church .. thats great experience . Many historical events of st john can see inside. Then we go the top of the bell tower. Thats a 360 panaroma view of the whole madaba city
Written 21 August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jean B
1 contribution
Dec 2023 • Friends
The welcome we had was lovely and as we went into the chapel we were overwhelmed by it beauty. The priest gave an amazing homely and was so devout on the alter. He came out and spoke after the Mass. my little great niece and nephew age 5 were with my friend and I and father bless them both. I can't wait to go back to St John the Baptist chapel in Perth. A wonderful experience for us all. Thank you and God bless.
Written 17 December 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
kelledstyle
Montreal, Canada763 contributions
June 2019
This operational Roman Catholic Church is an inviting destination for visitors. In the chapel, which now acts as a visitor centre, we enjoyed a fascinating exhibition of photographs dating from the early 20th century in the gallery. Entrance fee: 1 JOD. For more pictures, visit my Instagram (kelledstyle) ;-)
Written 4 September 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TMBHL_on_the_go
Wagga Wagga, Australia999 contributions
Apr 2012 • Family
The church is already in 3 layers and they have just recently started a dig below the lowest known level and found some ancient mosaics. We were able to go right down into the old tunnels, but the dig is very precarious as they don’t want to disturb the existing 3 storey church above, so they are doing it very slowly and gently. Was great to get a view of how these things can be discovered and to clamber in the dirt passages. They also have under the church the oldest well in Jordan which dates at least from 1200 – 1400 BC – amazing! The kids got to drop the bucket into the well and draw water up, we held the camera out and got a good shot of how far down it went. From one height to another, on the top of the church is a bell tower, the highest point in the area so up we went to stand on a very narrow ledge up the top for lovely views over Madaba.
Written 4 May 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
william b
Boca Raton, FL1 contribution
Mar 2012 • Solo
Absolutely make sure to see this wonderful church! Unfortunately, as it was just completed, it has not made its way ( yet ) to many travel guides. The two curators are incredibly kind, hospital, and gracious on the site when I visited. They speak wonderful English. You have wonderful views of Madaba from the church tower; fine paintings on select themes in the life of john the baptist; clear, crisp recreations of the finest mosaics to be seen in the city; and an excellent, topographical model of the area.
This place is special! You will be very happy to have visited.
This place is special! You will be very happy to have visited.
Written 23 March 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Christopher N
6 contributions
Sept 2018
Church is very impressive and beautiful on the inside and out. Very old church and the detail really shows. Madaba is know for its mosaics and the artwork there has great attention to detail. It has a crows nest which gives you an amazing view of the the whole city and there is museum in the bottom of the church. This site is very popular with tourists as well. My wife and I were married here this past September. Unforgettable and I would recommend if you are visiting or stopping by Madaba, Jordan this is a must see.
Written 28 October 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hermes_NL 🇳🇱
Amsterdam, The Netherlands21,534 contributions
Mar 2017 • Family
The Church of St John the Baptist in Madaba presents four attractions in one, all interesting: A small museum with a replica of a large Mosaic - the caretaker gives a really friendly explanation. Then the Church itself, which is failry recent, but standing on top of ancient vaults, in which there is a 3000 year old Moabite well, still functioning; and then finally the bell tower, an advenure to climb, affording great views over the city of Madaba towards the Mosque and other landmarks. Altogether very much worth while a visit.
Written 1 April 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Does anyone know the symbolism of the four birds on the main altar?
Written 13 April 2019
This was a pretty good site I found on the subject, hopefully this helps. Type in "The Spiritual Meanings of Birds" Trip Advisor will not allow websites. Look for the site Thoughtco, talks about Angels represented as birds.
Written 16 April 2019
Where can I find the mass schedule?
Thanks.
Written 19 January 2019
Hi redsxgrl5,
Do a search for the following below, I am unable to attach the link due to TripAdvisor guidelines.
It has the mass schedule and a lot of great information on Madaba, like places to eat, to stay, and things to do.
madaba phpbag content/shrine-beheading-saint-john-baptist-0
Written 5 February 2019
There is a well inn the lower part of the church. What is the significance of the well? Was it was where Rebekah got the water for Abraham’s servant?
Written 3 September 2018
Well. If you believe, it very well might be. Who is to tell?
Written 13 September 2018
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