With a long history of persecution, the Christians of Baghdeda (Qaraqosh) know that the bad times might return, but believe that “a Church that is not persecuted is a Church that does not carry Christ.” It is a beautiful day in Baghdeda, and families are streaming into the church of St. Behnam and Sarah. The […]
The international charity is requesting support for Iraq to help the country achieve stability and economic development. After years of helping to rebuild homes and infrastructure, Pontifical Charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is issuing an urgent call to the international community to help guarantee peace and stability in Iraq, as the necessary […]
In Iraq, scholarships will allow the Catholic University in Erbil to enrol more than four times as many Christian students as it has already. Less than one year after the historic visit of Pope Francis in Iraq, and despite difficulties posed by the pandemic, the first cohort of students have started to benefit from […]
The life of Christians on Iraq’s Nineveh Plains remains precarious, even though much progress has been made in the wake of the ouster of ISIS from the region and the restoration and rebuilding of Christian homes as well as churches and Church properties. Four Christians from Qaraqosh, which is regaining its status as the most important […]
The creation of “the biggest district of Christians in the Middle East” has been warmly welcomed by a bishop from the area who sees the development as critical for securing the future of the Church in the country. Syriac Catholic Archbishop Nathaniel Nizar Semaan of Adiabene told Catholic Charity Aid to the Church in Need […]
The threat of Daesh (ISIS) and other extremists in Iraq has grown following the taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan – according to one of the Middle East’s most respected bishops. Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil told leading Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that the taliban’s rise to power […]
Sister Clara Nas, the prioress of the Dominican Sisters of Saint Catherine of Siena, envisioned a new school for the children of Qaraqosh – now her dream has become a reality! On August 6, 2014, the city of Qaraqosh fell into the hands of the Islamic State (IS). The city, located on the Nineveh Plains […]
Faith-based targeting has created a problem of its own specific to Christians: emigration. Pope Francis’s historic visit to Iraq, however, ushers in a hope for residents of Qaraqosh – largely rebuilt with the help of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) and its benefactors, that these numbers will begin to change.
Director of Projects sees encouraging signs following trip to Iraq with the Pope ACN International draws a positive outcome from Pope Francis’ visit to Iraq, which ended on Monday. “The trip has already changed how the majority of Iraqis view Christians. They have understood that Christians are not just guests from the West, but they […]
A Gift From the Christians of Iraq for Pope Francis The Holy Father will pay a visit to the Al-Tahera Church on Sunday, March 7 in Qaraqosh, the town in northern Iraq also known as Baghdeda or Bakhdida. Father Yako Ammar, the parish priest of Al-Tahira, explains in a conversation with Aid to the Church […]
