The inauguration of the church destroyed by ISIS is a sign of hope

At the inauguration mass of the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, in the al-Dawasa neighborhood, Cardinal Sako stated that the inauguration of the church destroyed by ISIS is a sign of hope. The place of worship was conquered and devastated by jihadists and later converted into police headquarters for the Islamic State. The joy of the more than 300 Christians who participated in the celebration.

Mosul () – An “exceptional” result that can “encourage” Christians “to return to their beloved city, with the certainty that this will help create hope, promote harmonious coexistence and preserve the beautiful and diverse fabric of Mosul “said the Chaldean Patriarch, Card. Louis Raphael Sako, in the homily of the mass he celebrated yesterday on the occasion of the inauguration of the restored church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in the northern Iraqi metropolis. The temple is a symbol of the devastation of the Islamic State (IS, formerly Isis), which occupied it – and desecrated it – during the conquest in the summer of 2014 and was liberated three years later by the Iraqi army. “I was in charge of this church and supported the school for 15 years – the cardinal recalled – and Christians and Muslims felt like one family, in complete harmony.”

The Christian community, celebrating, accompanied with songs, hymns and slogans the inauguration mass of this Chaldean temple with 80 years of history behind it that had been converted into a religious police barracks under the ISIS government. The celebration was attended by Christian, Muslim, Yazidi and Sabean religious and political leaders from Mosul and the Nineveh Plain, as well as international figures – including those who financed the reconstruction – and more than 300 faithful. Also present were Bishop Nicodemus Daoud Sharaf, of the Syrian Orthodox Church, Bishop Imad Khoshaba, current archbishop of Tehran of the Chaldeans and Bishop Michael Najib Michael, archbishop of Mosul, along with priests, religious men and women.

“I've been waiting for this day,” he tells AFP Ilham Abdullah, a 74-year-old former school principal, insists that he hopes “Christian families will return and life will return to the way it was” in Mosul, home to one of the oldest communities in the world. Salim, who came to the city especially to participate in the mass, said that the Chaldeans “came to see their church” abandoned “when the oppressors of Daesh left it destroyed.” Currently in the northern metropolis – the scene of Pope Francis' historic visit during his apostolic trip to Iraq in 2021 – there are other churches and monasteries being restored, but reconstruction is slow and many have not yet returned.

The Card. Sako highlighted in his homily that Christians were pioneers in the construction of Iraqi civilization and society, the culture and progress of the Mosul governorate. That is why he said that he “regretted” the lack of participation of the current governor, whose presence would have “encouraged” Christians to return to their city, “although it seems that he does not care about that.” “Difficult circumstances – he added – threaten its existence”, and that is why “we await with hope” a political system “at the service of citizens” and measures aimed at “justice and equality”, to overcome “sectarianism, quotas and the components” in a perspective of “peace and trust”. It is necessary, he concluded, to fight corruption and the proliferation of weapons, and “dismantle extremist ideology.”

The destruction carried out by the Islamic State became evident in March 2017 when Iraqi forces liberated the al-Dawasa neighborhood. While searching the area they found a Christian church that the militants had used as a base. It was precisely Um al-Mauna (Our Lady of Perpetual Help), which at that time no longer showed any signs of its past because the crucifix and statues had been destroyed and replaced by posters and symbols of DAESH (Arabic acronym for ISIS). The inscription above the door, “Chaldean Catholic Church,” along with the gray marble altar, attest to the building's original function, and the jihadist religious police had posted a sign on the wall prohibiting entry.

Posters illustrating life under ISIS rule hung on the marble columns of the once Christian place of worship. On one of them were written the 14 rules in force in Mosul, including the obligation for women to dress modestly and appear in public only “if necessary.” A pamphlet was found on the rubble-covered floor listing the corporal punishments provided (with explanatory images) for those guilty of theft, alcohol consumption, adultery and homosexuality. The Islamic State conquered the city in June 2014 and forced Christians to choose between converting to Islam, paying a special tax, fleeing or being killed. A few weeks later they devastated Qaraqosh, in the Nineveh Plain, and forced most of the 120,000 Christians to flee.

(Photos taken from the Chaldean Patriarchate website)