Posted on 05/28/2016 11:12:46 AM PDT by marshmallow
Erbil, Iraq, May 28, 2016 / 05:13 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Friday, the first of three rounds of displaced Iraqi children made their First Communion in a refugee camp in Erbil, providing a silver lining to an otherwise bleak situation.
Out of the 5,500 people living in Erbil’s Aishty 2 camp for the displaced, the majority – more than 2,000 – are children. Of these, 470 will make their First Communion in the coming weeks.
The number of children receiving the sacrament is up from last year’s class, which numbered about 400.
Since this year’s number of recipients is so high, the children have been divided into three groups. The first, numbering around 175, made their First Communion on Friday, May 27.
Next Friday, June 3, a second group of about 145 will receive the Eucharist, while the third and final group of about 150 will receive the sacrament Friday, June 10.
All of the children are from the Syriac-Catholic rite, and most fled the city of Qaraqosh, the former Christian capitol of Iraqi Kurdistan, with their families when ISIS militants attacked the night of Aug. 6, 2014.
The May 27 Mass for the first group was celebrated by Syriac-Catholic Archbishop of Mosul Yohanno Petros Moshe in the camp’s large, prefabricated church.
With a capacity for roughly 800 people, the church started out as a tent when the Christian refugees first poured into Erbil two years ago, asking for a place to pray. Now it serves as the main parish for the city’s Aishty camp, which is the largest in Erbil and is divided into three smaller camps: Aishty 1, 2 and 3.
The majority of people in the camp are from Qaraqosh, which is where the former See of their Church had been located before ISIS’ assault......
(Excerpt) Read more at catholicnewsagency.com ...
Beautiful.
Beautiful yes.
God Bless Them
Tiny sparks of hope. May the Lord fill them and make them shine strong and bright!
inspirational. but to librals, they on’t matter; they’re not oppressed enough. Only Islam people are.
Such a radiant scene. We need to pray for the safety of those children - living in a refugee camp now, and facing more danger in the future.
Catholic ping!
Wow! Look at all those children. The Catholic Church grows and grows each day!
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