While the Middle East remains shaken by tensions and Christians are still too often persecuted amid general indifference, a powerful sign of hope has just emerged from Iraq, in the Christian town of Qaraqosh (Baghdeda). Over the past weeks, more than 450 children have received their First Holy Communion there, in different parishes of the town, under the guidance of the Syriac Catholic Archbishop of Mosul, His Excellency Benedictus Hanno.
This impressive number, in a wounded country, testifies to the vitality of a people who have refused to be uprooted, despite war, Islamist threats, and mass exodus. Let us recall that in 2014, Qaraqosh was completely emptied of its Christian population during the invasion by ISIS. Many left everything—homes, possessions, memories—but not their faith.
Today, many have courageously returned to rebuild their homes and churches and continue to pass on the love of Christ to their children. These First Communions are the direct fruit of that heroic fidelity and the transmission of the faith within Eastern Catholic families.
During the First Communion Masses, Archbishop Hanno was sure to acknowledge the role of parents, true spiritual pillars in a world that seeks to destroy the family unit. "When father and mother are united in faith, the family becomes like a fortress: it resists temptation, evil, and all moral deviations," he affirmed from the pulpit. A powerful statement in a context where family faith is violently put to the test.
Archbishop Hanno described these celebrations as a "great joy for our Church," emphasizing that they are living proof of a Christian renewal in a region many thought was condemned. These children, dressed in white, approaching the altar to receive the Body of Christ, embody the victory of light over darkness, of faith over persecution.
It must be remembered that Qaraqosh, one of the last Christian strongholds in Iraq, was home to about 60,000 Christians before 2014. Today, there are only 30,000, with just 27,000 Syriac Catholics according to the latest official figures. And yet, this Church continues to rise again in fidelity and hope.
This town is not insignificant: it is here that Pope Francis came in 2021, to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, to meet the faithful. A historic moment, filled with grace, which seems to be bearing visible fruit today.