By Georgena Habbaba, CNA
Eleven years have passed since ISIS seized Mosul and the Nineveh towns and with every anniversary commemorated each year, the same question arises: How many Iraqi Christians remain?
Despite tensions and renewed challenges from regional conflict, Iraqi churches remain full. Just weeks ago, Christians there celebrated joyfully as 1,000 young boys and girls received their first Communion.
In Iraq’s capital, Chaldean parishes celebrated first Communion for 50 children, while 32 others received the sacrament at the Syriac Catholic parish.
Most significantly, 11 children took their first Communion at the Syriac Catholic Church of Our Lady of Deliverance — the same church that witnessed a horrific massacre in 2010, when dozens of worshippers and two priests were killed and hundreds wounded.
Guarding the deposit of faith
In Qaraqosh (Baghdeda), churches belonging to the Syriac Catholic Archdiocese of Mosul and its dependencies celebrated first Communion for 461 children across three separate ceremonies. Another 30 children received the sacrament in nearby Bashiqa and Bartella, with liturgies led by Archbishop Benedictos Younan Hanno.
During his homilies, Hanno praised the faithful’s determination to stay on their ancestral land and their courage in returning after forced displacement. He commended their commitment to preserving their faith and passing it to their children, who have grown up in stable, united, devoted families.