New Convent Beckons Christians to Return to Iraq

Aid to the Church in Need ^ | 1/23/23

[marshmallow]

“We must have faith to rebuild the village, and you are a sign of that faith,” Archbishop Thabet told dozens of Dominican sisters gathered for the inauguration of their new Convent of Saint Joseph.

Batnaya used to be an important hub of Christian life on the Nineveh Plain, in northern Iraq. Around 5,000 Christians, almost all Chaldean Catholics, lived in the village in 2014, but the entire population had to flee when terrorists from the Islamic State (ISIS) overran the region in August of that year.

The jihadist terror group was eventually defeated, but the buildings, including two important churches, were almost destroyed, and the population scattered, some to refugee camps, while others emigrated.

But the Dominican sisters were not willing to give up on their village and their community. Set on returning to Batnaya, they first moved into a house that was loaned to them by a generous resident, before their new Convent of Saint Joseph was built, largely with financial support from Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).

Speaking at the consecration ceremony of the new building on December 18, Archbishop Paul Thabet, of the Chaldean Archdiocese of Alqosh, said that this new construction was about more than bricks and mortar—it was about giving life and hope to the community.

“Consecration is a call through which God builds up the Kingdom of Heaven. Wherever monastics come, they can change the desert into a paradise, and the presence of the nuns and their coming to the stricken and demolished village is a sign of great reconstruction. We are not only rebuilding stones, but we are also restoring humanity,” said the archbishop.

“The presence of the nuns in this village is a sign of encouragement for all the people of the village to return, too.

[livius]

Wonderful!

Also, I think the Chaldeans have a separate rite, so the Pope can’t crush them.