Catholic News

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Rome Newsroom, Apr 21, 2024 / 09:36 am (CNA).

Pope Francis reflected on the image of Christ as the Good Shepherd during his Regina Caeli address Sunday, noting that it is a role characterized by his sacrificial love.

"Jesus explains that he is not a hired man who cares nothing for the sheep but a man who knows them," the pope said on April 21, the fourth Sunday of Easter, which is traditionally known as Good Shepherd Sunday because it is the theme of the day's Gospel. "It is true, he knows us, he calls us by our name and, when we are lost, he looks for us until he finds us."

Pope Francis explained that Christ's role as a shepherd introduced a new logic, observing that he is not acting as a guide or "the head of the flock" but is instead "living in symbiosis" with his people.

"This is what the Lord wants to tell us with the image of the Good Shepherd: not only that he is the guide, the head of the flock, but above all that he thinks of each of us as the love of his life," the pope said to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square.

Pope Francis emphasized the sacrificial component of the role of the shepherd, observing that Jesus "is not just a good shepherd who shares the life of the flock" but "is the Good Shepherd who has sacrificed his life for us and has given us his Spirit through his resurrection."

The pope asked the faithful to meditate upon this sacrificial dimension of the shepherd so that we bear in mind that "for Christ, I am important, irreplaceable, worth the infinite price of his life."

"It is not just a way of speaking," the pope added, "he truly gave his life for me, he died and rose again for me because he loves me and he finds in me a beauty that I often do not see myself."

The pope also cautioned against the temptation to measure our value based on "trivial things," such as "the goals we achieve" or "on whether we succeed in the eyes of the world, on the judgments of others."

"In order to find ourselves, the first thing to do is to place ourselves in his presence, allowing ourselves to be welcomed and lifted up by the loving arms of our Good Shepherd," the pope said.

The Holy Father also drew attention to Sunday's celebration of the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, which he observed as an "opportunity to rediscover the Church as a community characterized by a polyphony of charisms and vocations at the service of the Gospel."

Following the recitation of the Regina Caeli, the pope renewed his appeal for peace in the Middle East, imploring leaders not to "give in to the logic of vengeance and war" but instead to let "the paths of dialogue and diplomacy prevail, which can do a lot."

"I pray every day for peace in Palestine and Israel and I hope that those two peoples can soon stop suffering," he said.

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ACI Prensa Staff, Apr 21, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

On Sunday, April 21, in addition to celebrating the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, the Catholic Church in Spain also celebrates what it calls "Native Vocations Day," to support and provide formation for those who feel called to the priesthood and consecrated life in other countries so that no one is prevented from pursuing a vocation due to lack of resources.

The Pontifical Society of St. Peter the Apostle is in charge of this effort, one of the four Pontifical Mission Societies that in different ways provides the resources to maintain 725 seminaries around the world.

In Asia, these seminaries (152 minor, 13 preparatory, and 62 major) serve more than 15,000 candidates for the priesthood. In Africa, more than 67,000 seminarians attend the 225 minor, 116 preparatory, and 142 major seminaries. In Asia, thanks to the Pontifical Mission Societies, 112 future priests are undergoing formation in five major seminaries, while in the mission lands of the Americas, 157 seminarians are in formation, distributed across one minor seminary, two preparatory, and seven major seminaries, according to data from the Pontifical Mission Societies.

To support these seminaries, in 2023 the Pontifical Society of St. Peter the Apostle allocated more than 16 million euros (about $17 million), which helped support more than 83,000 seminarians and 2,000 formators.

The aid is intended to cover an annual subsidy for living and enrollment expenses, which represents the largest item (78% of the total). The rest is used for the construction and maintenance of the buildings, with means to self-finance, support for formators, scholarships, and to support the first year of formation for the novitiates of religious congregations originating in mission territories.

One priest's story

Father Nicéforo Obama learned to read with the Spanish Carmelite missionaries of Charity of St. Joaquina de Vedruna, who went to spread the Gospel in Equatorial Guinea in the 1980s. As a young child, he discovered his priestly vocation and soon entered the minor seminary. He was ordained a priest a decade ago.

During a meeting held April 16 in Madrid, Obama explained that the first thing he noticed when he reached the age of reason was the Church and the charitable works of the nuns, which made him wonder: "Why do these young girls leave Spain, their people, to work here; what will they be gaining from it?"

All of this was causing him inner anxiety. In primary school, he could see the vulnerability of the human condition and found that "Jesus is the one who gives meaning to life and the one who has the answers to the great questions that human beings have," he explained. This led him to decide to become a priest, not only "to find the answer in Jesus but to help others find these answers."

After going through the minor seminary, he attended the interdiocesan major seminary, which was run by the Diocese of Ávila in an agreement with the Spanish Bishops' Conference.

"If your parents don't have enough to eat, how are they going to support a vocation?" he asked, to give an example of the typical mentality in mission lands where people don't always understand "how you can invest in a student who isn't going to generate income for the family."

The priest explained that unlike the governments in developed countries, in mission lands the Church also provides health care, education, and charitable assistance in addition to its mission to catechize and provide the sacraments.  Thus, "supporting one of these vocations is helping many people."

The Pontifical Mission Societies has a website (in Spanish) dedicated to vocations in other countries where testimonies are shared, specific details of different projects are explained, and there is an opportunity to make a donation.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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ACI Prensa Staff, Apr 20, 2024 / 10:30 am (CNA).

The deputy secretary of the Cuban Bishops' Conference, Father Ariel Suárez, said that the Catholic Church is available to facilitate dialogue "if the different political actors" would agree to it in order to find a solution to the crisis in the country.

In an interview with NBC News, the priest referred to protests that once again shook the country, this time in March on the eastern end of the island.

"In the protests of last March 17, this pain turned into a cry, in a cry that was heard and that has been accepted, shall we say, by all the levels of the country," Suárez said.

The deputy secretary of the Cuban Bishops' Conference said that "at least everyone has agreed to consider that this cry reflected anguish, reflected desperation, and that people were asking obviously for a different situation than the one they were going through."

On March 17, thousands of people took to the streets due to the shortage of food, medicine, and the constant power outages that make daily life more difficult. Despite the promises from the communist regime, the energy supply problems have continued, and on Thursday there were power outages lasting about six hours.

According to the Diario de Cuba, the cause is supposedly eight generators that are out of service either for breakdowns or for maintenance and another 32 that were out for lack of fuel.

In addition, there is the constant emigration of Cubans from the country, mainly to the United States.

Given this scenario, Suárez noted that "the bishops have called for prayer so that solutions can be found, so we can find a way out of this distressing situation, so that those in power may have the wisdom and the boldness when making decisions that will benefit people's lives."

The bishops "have noted the pain people are in and have also asked the Church, if the different political actors agree, to offer a space for dialogue, a meeting place" between all "these different but not necessarily contradictory positions."

The priest expressed his desire that these different positions "won't be hostile" to one another and that "they can help find the concrete solutions that this people needs."

"We Cubans can love Cuba with different visions, with different perspectives," the deputy secretary stated, asking citizens "to put above all those differences the love for Cuba and the desire to improve the life of its people now and in the future."

In addition to the serious economic situation, the nongovernmental organization Prisoner Defenders noted that the communist regime — in power since 1959 — currently holds 1,092 political prisoners, a situation that has also been denounced by the opposition inside and outside Cuba.

On several occasions, the leaders of dissident organizations — not legally recognized by the government and therefore constant victims of acts of repression — have indicated that the solution lies in a peaceful transition of Cuba toward a democracy that guarantees human rights and civil liberties for the people.

This story was first publishedby ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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CNA Staff, Apr 20, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

When Luke Burgis moved to Silicon Valley to start a business, he never expected he would become a seminarian and then go on to launch entrepreneurship programs for Catholic students. 

Burgis had attended NYU, worked on Wall Street, started several businesses in Silicon Valley, and moved to Las Vegas before deciding he wanted more meaning in his life. With the encouragement of a friend, he rekindled his Catholic faith. After five years in seminary, he ultimately discerned he would not become a priest, but he still found himself in need of deeper meaning in his work.

So he founded Catholic Entrepreneurship and Design Experience (CEDE, pronounced "seed") in 2020 to help students across the country connect their working lives with their faith. 

Four years later, CEDE is a thriving organization based at Catholic University of America (CUA) in Washington, D.C., with programs and educational materials across the world. Burgis is the entrepreneur-in-residence and assistant clinical professor of business at CUA. He has developed educational materials shared with Catholic schools and home-school communities in addition to teaching business classes at CUA. 

"I didn't understand how I could actually live out my values and be a Catholic in the business world that I was in, even after I'd had that reconversion experience," Burgis said when asked what inspired him to found CEDE.

"But I knew that there was some gap that we had to close in Catholic education between the theoretical or the principles of Catholic social teaching and the way that it actually plays out on the ground, if you're trying to start something," he explained. "We launched CEDE to try to reintegrate these disciplines."

This year, Burgis is launching a new project for CEDE — a summer entrepreneurship program for high school students. The 10-week virtual Startup Venture Challenge will teach high schoolers how to start a business. 

"CEDE introduces students to basic principles of entrepreneurship within the context of Catholic social teaching and helps them understand that ultimately they are the entrepreneurs of their own lives, whether they ever start a business or not," Burgis said.

"We're trying to train young Catholics to think more like an entrepreneur, which means finding creative ways to solve problems or to see solutions where other people only see problems," he said. "We think that that's really important for all Catholics, period, and that if we had a more entrepreneurial Church, we would have a more adaptive and creative Church."

But being a "Catholic entrepreneur" isn't necessarily about starting a business, Burgis noted. 

"Our goal here is not really to create more business owners," he explained. "Our goal is to help more young Catholics in Catholic schools be equipped and confident to go out into the world, whatever their vocation is." 

Burgis wanted to connect what he learned about business with Catholic teaching. 

"[At NYU] I just learned: 'Here's what profit is. Profit is good. Pursue it,'" he recalled. "Most of my classmates simply wanted to make as much money as they could."

"When I left seminary, I realized that there was a real disintegration or gap between what I had learned at my Catholic schools … and what things actually look like in practice when you're actually out there in the world trying to do things," he explained. 

CEDE's model of education is about "experiential learning," "creative problem-solving," and independence and "differs" from the rules-based form of education many American students are accustomed to, Burgis said. 

"That's much of what being an entrepreneur feels like," he said of the model. "You're not given a roadmap, you're not told what to do, you have to figure things out, and you have to make decisions and take responsibility for those decisions."

Burgis said it will feel like "a challenge."

"You're being challenged, being given this mission," he said. "We want to empower the students to accomplish that mission by working together and finding creative ways to solve problems on their own without being told how to do it. We actually want to make them a little uncomfortable."

Students don't need to have business ideas to join, as the first three weeks will be spent building up an idea. The full schedule involves a discernment stage, launching, testing, and then a resources and community stage.

"We want them to feel what it feels like to have a fire ignited within themselves, to exercise their own creativity, to take ownership of it, to take total responsibility, and to be proud of that, and to be able to serve others through their gifts and talents," Burgis said. 

The program runs from June 10 to Aug. 12 and is fully virtual and amenable to the students' work schedules. The cost is $250, with scholarships available. Applications are open for teenagers ages 14–18. 

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ACI Prensa Staff, Apr 19, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).

The pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) on April 19 condemned the kidnapping and murder of a catechist in Burkina Faso, West Africa.

In a news brief, ACN informed ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, that catechist Edouard Yougbare was kidnapped on Thursday night by "terrorists, and his lifeless body was found near Zigni this morning."

According to other local sources, along with Yougbare, who was a member of  Saatenga parish in Fada Gourma, Burkina Faso, more people were kidnapped and murdered.

"We are heartbroken by the loss of Yougbare. He served his community faithfully and his death is a devastating blow for the people of Saatenga," lamented Spaniard María Lozano, press and public relations director of ACN International.

"Catechists in Burkina Faso are on the front lines, risking their lives for the good of their people. Just two months ago, another catechist was murdered in the Diocese of Dori while leading a Sunday celebration in a chapel," she noted.

ACN encouraged all the faithful to pray for the families of the victims and the people of Saatenga, hit hard by these events.

Perilous security situation in Burkina Faso

"The security situation in Burkina Faso has become drastic in recent years, with Christians being particularly targeted by terrorist groups inspired by Islamic extremism," ACN explained.

In the city of Essakane in the Diocese of Dori, 15 Christians were killed and two others were injured by terrorists during Sunday Mass on Feb. 25.

In January 2023, the Diocese of Dédougou reported that Father Jacques Yaro Zerbo, 67, was murdered by unidentified armed men in the country's northwest.

In May 2019, Spanish Salesian Father Fernando Hernández, 60, was murdered by a former cook at the Salesian center in the town of Bobo Dioulasso.

The violence in the country is part of a broader conflict that involves several countries in the African Sahel region, such as Mali, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria, where Christians also suffer persecution.

ACN remains committed to helping the Church in Burkina Faso. In 2023, it collaborated on 56 projects in the country with an investment of more than 1 million euros (about $107 million.)

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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Vatican City, Apr 19, 2024 / 10:07 am (CNA).

In the latest move in Pope Francis' reform of the Vatican judiciary, the pope issued a new motu proprio on Friday on the retirement age and benefits for cardinal judges and magistrates in the Vatican's court system.

The April 19 motu proprio states that Vatican magistrates will retire at the end of the judicial year in which they turn 75 and cardinal judges at the age of 80, unless Pope Francis asks them to remain in office beyond the age limit.

Magistrates and judges who wish to resign from office before the retirement age can only do so with the approval of the pope.

The pope also has the prerogative to dismiss magistrates unable to fulfill their duties at any time. Upon the termination of their duties, magistrates will retain the rights to assistance and welfare provided to Vatican citizens and employees.

The motu proprio, which will go into effect the day after its publication, amends the Church's Law on the Judicial System of Vatican City State. 

The changes stipulate that the pope can appoint the president of the court's successor to serve as an assistant in the year leading up to the president's retirement.

The amended law also states that magistrates who have retired are entitled to full pension benefits from Vatican City State regardless of whether they receive other payments of a similar nature accrued in another country. 

Other articles in the motu proprio enumerate the laws governing the salary structure, retirement benefits, and civil liability for Vatican magistrates.

Pope Francis wrote in his brief introduction to the amendments that "the experience gained over the last few years in the administration of justice has led to the need for a series of interventions relating to the judicial system of the Vatican City State."

He said that the changes aim to promote "the professional dignity and economic treatment of the ordinary magistrates of the Tribunal and the Office of the Promoter of Justice."

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ACI Prensa Staff, Apr 19, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Archbishop Marek Jedraszewski of Krakow, Poland, announced the decision to begin the process of beatification and canonization of Helena Agnieszka Kmiec, a young lay missionary murdered in Bolivia in 2017.

The prelate said that after the preliminary phase began in December 2022, he made the decision to officially open the process for Kmiec after having consulted the Polish Bishops' Conference and receiving the go-ahead from the Vatican's Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.

"With this edict I call on all those who have any document, letter, or information about the Servant of God, both positive and negative, to send them to the Metropolitan Curia of Krakow before June 30," the archbishop stated.

The edict opening the cause was published April 14 and will be read in all the parishes and chapels in Krakow on Sunday, April 21. 

Who was Helena Kmiec?

Servant of God Helena Agnieszka Kmiec was born on Feb. 9, 1991, in Krakow. She was the second daughter of Jan Kmiec and Agnieszka Bejska. Her mother died just a few weeks after she was born.

Her father later married Barbara Zajac, and Kmiec was raised "in a home full of love, warmth, and, above all, deep faith," the edict noted.

Beginning in 1998, she attended primary and secondary schools run by the Association of Catholic Educators in Libiaz, Poland. She then spent two years on a scholarship in the United Kingdom. From 2009–2014 she studied engineering at the Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice, Poland.

The edict noted that Kmiec went "to holy Mass almost every day while she was a student, which for her was a very important time of the day."

At the university, she learned about the Salvator Missionary Volunteer Service of the Congregation of Salvatorian Priests and became one of their missionaries. In 2012 she went to Hungary to run a summer camp for children; in 2013 she was sent to Zambia, where she worked with street children; and in 2014 she went to Romania, where she served young people.

Before being sent on one of these missions, Kmiec wrote: "I received the grace of God, … the gift freely given to give to others, and I have to share this gift! All the skills I have, the abilities I acquire, the talents I develop, are not meant to serve me, but so that I can use them to help others."

"The greatest gift is that I know God and I can't keep it to myself, I have to spread it! If I can help someone, make them smile, make them happier, teach them something, then I want to do it," she added.

Murdered in Bolivia

On Jan. 8, 2017, Kmiec began volunteering in Bolivia, where she planned to stay six months. Just days after her arrival, on Jan. 24, she was murdered at Edmundo Bojanowski School, which is run by the Congregation of the Servants of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Pacata neighborhood of Cochabamba.

According to reports, two criminals entered the school to rob the place and were surprised by the young woman. One of them attacked her with a knife, killing her.

Kmiec was 26 years old when she died on her last volunteer mission with Salvator.

After her death, the edict related, "her reputation for a holy life and dedication to God and the Church spontaneously arose among the faithful. Many people prayed and continue to pray for her intercession."

The edict concluded by noting that "the example of the Servant of God can certainly be an inspiration for people — especially young people — to pursue their vocation to holiness with great passion and commitment through volunteering and missionary activity."

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 18, 2024 / 14:15 pm (CNA).

The first English-language translation of the Bible in the United States will become an "official state book" in Tennessee on July 1.

Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, signed a bill on Tuesday that names the Aitken Bible and nine other texts as official state books in the Tennessee Blue Book (an official manual on the state government). This is the first time Tennessee has formally recognized any official state books.

The Bible translation was published by Philadelphia printer Robert Aitken in 1782 and received an official endorsement from Congress. The American Revolution, which began in 1776, halted trade with Great Britain and cut off the supply of Bibles, which prompted Aitken to publish an English-language Bible in the country, according to the legislation.

Aitken's translation received its official endorsement from the Congress of the Confederation in 1782, which was the American legislative body that preceded the establishment of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The 18th-century resolution states that the lawmakers "highly approve the pious and laudable undertaking of Mr. Aitken, as subservient to the interest of religion, as well as the interest of the progress of arts in this country." It further states that the lawmakers "recommend this edition of the Bible to the inhabitants of the United States."

The translation, which is a version of the Protestant King James Version of the Bible, is not approved by the Vatican for Catholics. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops lists approved translations of the Bible on its website.

Tennessee's legislation that names the Aitken Bible as an official state book notes that the state is home to "the largest publisher of authentic reproductions of the Aitken Bible," which is the Aitken Bible Historical Foundation. It adds that Tennessee is home to "three of the five privately owned original first American Bibles remaining in the world today."

The legislation received strong support from Republicans in the Tennessee House and Senate, who hold strong supermajorities in both chambers. The bill faced opposition from most Democrats but received one Democratic vote in the House.

Some of the other historic books designated as official state books in this legislation included President George Washington's "Farewell Address" and "Democracy in America" by Alexis de Tocqueville. The bill also recognized the 1977 book "Roots" by Alex Haley, which discusses slavery in the United States, and the 2016 book "Coat of Many Colors" by the Tennessee-born country singer Dolly Parton.

Tennessee lawmakers also passed a bill that would recognize November as "Christian Heritage Month." The legislation was sent to Lee, but the governor has not yet taken any action on it.

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Rome Newsroom, Apr 18, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).

As the Catholic Church's first African American cardinal was honored at a U.S. seminary in Rome, he recalled the legacy of faith and perseverance of Black Catholics in America, including at a time when they were not accepted by U.S. seminaries. 

Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, received this year's Rector's Award at an April 11 banquet at the Pontifical North American College, where seminarians from across 99 dioceses in the U.S. live while studying for the priesthood in Rome.

In an interview with CNA before the award ceremony, Gregory pointed out that in the 19th century, African Americans who had a vocation to the priesthood were sent to study in Rome and then to serve as missionaries in Africa because at the time they were not allowed to enter U.S. seminaries.

"Being in Rome reminds me also that Rome is the place that provided a seminary education and formation for Augustus Tolton, the first African American priest to serve openly in the United States," Gregory said.

Tolton "came to Rome because Rome … was willing to take him on as a seminarian when no other seminary in the United States would accept that."

Venerable Augustus Tolton, a former slave turned Catholic priest, is now on the path to sainthood in the Catholic Church. He studied in Rome near the Spanish Steps at the Pontifical Urban University, run by the Vatican's Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, from 1880 to 1886, when he was ordained in the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran.

Tolton offered his first Mass in St. Peter's Basilica on April 25, 1886. One hundred and thirty-four years later, Pope Francis made Gregory the first African American cardinal in a ceremony in the same basilica in 2020. 

"I know that the honor that was given to me by Pope Francis rested solidly on the faith of African American Catholics," Gregory told CNA.

"Even in times when we weren't respected, or understood, or honored, we remained faithful."

"And the fact that I can enjoy the office, knowing that it rests on the quality of goodness, faith, and charity of the African American community, humbles me deeply," the cardinal said with tears in his eyes.

Gregory has led the Archdiocese of Washington since 2019. He said that navigating a U.S. presidential election year as the archbishop requires prudence.

"We're living in a very divisive moment, both in our political life in the United States, but sometimes also … in our Church," he said.

"In the United States, we're struggling with trying to be one people —  one people with a common purpose, a common future. And sometimes the rhetoric gets to be so hostile and so vitriolic that it causes us to step back and say, 'Is this really the nation that is the land of the free and the home of the brave?'"

The cardinal, who will be in Rome for the month leading up to the U.S. election as a delegate in the Synod on Synodality, said that his task is "difficult, but not impossible."

"As the archbishop of Washington, I have to focus on the fact that in spite of all of the differences that are at play, I have wonderful people in my archdiocese. And people have great generosity and devotion to the country and to the Church."

Gregory recently made headlines for calling President Joe Biden a "cafeteria Catholic" in an Easter interview on "Face the Nation," explaining that Biden "picks and chooses dimensions of the faith to highlight while ignoring or even contradicting other parts."

While he did not receive a response from the White House to the comments, the cardinal said that "the overwhelming response was positive" from the Catholics in his archdiocese.

"I respect the president. I believe that he is a sincere man of faith, I really do believe that. I would just ask that he would somehow find a way to better allow his personal religious convictions to engage in the public forum," Gregory said.

The cardinal pointed to the Vatican's recent declaration on human dignity, Dignitas Infinita, as "a wonderful summation of the Church's moral teaching."

Gregory said that he hopes that the Eucharistic revival in the U.S. will lead American Catholics to "draw closer together as a family of faith around the altar that Christ sets for us."

"The emphasis on the Real Presence also should generate the next question: If Christ is really present and I receive him in the Eucharist, what does that demand of me?" he said.

"His Eucharistic presence is a gift of unquestionable importance. But it's also a challenge that those of us who dine with him must live like him and have the same values that he expressed in the Gospels as his legacy of faith and love."

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CNA Newsroom, Apr 18, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

When the altar of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Chaldean Catholic Church was consecrated earlier this month in Mosul, Iraq, a former parishioner now living in the United States said she was moved to tears.

"My eyes were filled with tears as I watched my church and my school return to the beautiful picture engraved in my memory," said Georgena Habbaba, who used to attend the parish and study at the parish school with her brothers. Her own children studied there, too, before the family had to flee Mosul amid worsening violence in 2007. (Note: Habbaba also writes for ACI Mena, CNA's Arabic-language news partner.)

"I remembered the wonderful days I spent studying at this school and praying in this church. Very close to my family's house," she told CNA.

Habbaba remembers how all the statues as well as the altar and everything in the church were destroyed by ISIS. "I especially missed the statue of Our Lady of Perpetual Help above the altar," she said.

On April 5, Chaldean patriarch Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako presided at a Mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Help and consecrated the altar, expressing his happiness at its reconstruction. He said it "gives hope for a safe and better future for the people of this city."

"It is a distinguished achievement that may encourage Christians to return to their dear city and contribute to building confidence, promoting harmonious coexistence, and preserving the fabric of Mosul," he added.

In his comments, Sako also recalled when the foundation stone for the church was laid in 1944 and the construction of the school was finished in 1946.

"It is a great spiritual and cultural joy that we celebrate today the restoration of the opening of this great religious and educational edifice," he told ACI Mena, CNA's Arabic-language news partner. The school has also been completely reconstructed.

Habbaba recalled that when the school first opened, it was directed by Chaldean nuns. "The school and the church owe a lot to the nuns," she said.

Habbaba also recalled that the school was a mixture of Christians and Muslims without discrimination, "although the numbers of Christians decreased beginning in 2003 until the school in its last days before the occupation of ISIS in 2014 was almost free of Christian students."

Before 2003, Christians in Iraq numbered nearly 2 million. Mosul, the second-largest city in Iraq, had nearly half a million Christians. Today, Iraqi Christians number fewer than 200,000, though a lack of official statistics makes it difficult to know for sure. Christians are returning to Mosul but so far in small numbers. 

The most prominent pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help was Father Faraj Rahho, who became the archbishop of Mosul and was kidnapped and martyred by terrorists in 2008. Sako, the current patriarch, also spent 15 years as pastor of the parish.

Also present at the special Mass on April 5 was Bishop Najib Mikhail, the pastor of the Chaldean Diocese of Mosul, who thanked the French donors, the SOS organization, and all those responsible for accomplishing the restoration work. The church was rebuilt according to its original architecture and building materials, despite difficult circumstances. 

Earlier this year, ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language partner, reported on another Catholic church in Mosul that was recently restored. The Dominican Church of Our Lady of the Hour was completely restored after destruction by Islamic State terrorists 10 years ago.

ACI Mena, CNA's Arabic-language news partner, contributed to this story.

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