Over the weekend, we received this email with some uplifting news from CNEWA’s Michel Constantin in Beirut, with some details culled from a report by AFP:
Iraqi Christians celebrated the feast of the Immaculate Conception on Friday 8 December 2017 in the town of Qaraqosh for the first time since their displacement from Nineveh Valley that was previously occupied for three years by jihadists of ISIS.
The bell tower of the Church of the Immaculate Conception (Al Tahira) is still scarred by war, but its interior has been cleaned and signs of damage erased.
Some 300 faithful, mostly women and the elderly, attended Friday’s service.
Qaraqosh is about 18 miles from Iraq’s second largest city, Mosul. Before being taken by ISIS, it had some 50,000 residents.
Qaraqosh used to have the greatest concentration of Christians in the country, estimated at 52,000 people in 2014. However, only a small number (estimated at 30 percent) have returned after the town was retaken from the jihadists.
The first Mass in the town following its liberation was held on 30 October last year.
“This is our first celebration of Holy Mary after three years when we were displaced,” said Hanaa Qasha, a 48-year-old teacher.