Richard A. Sokerka
Imagine not being able to celebrate Christmas, the Birth of Jesus Christ, or be able to attend Mass on Christmas Day.
But that’s exactly how it was for Christian worshippers in Iraq’s northern city of Mosul since 2014 when ISIS overran the city and Christians were not able to celebrate any of Christianity’s holy days.
That all changed this year for Christmas Day. Mass was held at the Church of St. Paul in Mosul where Father Saad Saliwah, pastor, was ecstatic. “Our church bells rang for the first time in more than three years since ISIS captured the city,” he said. Christians filled the church to overflowing to celebrate the feast of the Birth of Our Savior.
In 2014, ISIS militants swept through northern and western Iraq, including Mosul, which they declared as the capital of their self-proclaimed caliphate, sending most of its Christian population of 200,000 into flight. The Muslim militants threatened the Christians, telling them to convert to Islam, pay protection tax, die or flee. Once in control of Mosul, they prohibited public Christian worship services and began systematically destroying churches. St. Paul Cathedral reportedly was used as a prison by the militants.
Slowly but surely, the fight against ISIS forces was won and recently, Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced the expulsion of ISIS from Mosul after a nine-month military campaign.
Christmas carols in Aramaic, the language of Jesus, filled the air in St. Paul Cathedral freely with cries of joy from Christians, finally safe to express their faith without hindrance from the Islamic State militants. Under ISIS rule any public celebration of Christian rituals was banned.
At the Mass, Chaldean Patriarch Louis Sako of Baghdad, underscoring Christ’s message of love and peace, urged displaced Christians to return home and participate in its reconstruction. He urged the faithful to pray for “peace and stability to reign in Mosul, Iraq and the world.”
This new year now holds promise for these Christians for the first time in many years. And the celebration of Mass on Christmas made it one of the merriest Christmases in Mosul’s history.