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Father Rupnik has been accused of the sexual and psychological abuse of dozens of women under his spiritual care in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Rome Newsroom, Jun 19, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Advocates for sexual abuse victims say that religious art by the accused abuser Father Marko Rupnik should be taken down or covered up to spare victims further suffering. But Church authorities in charge of the works, which decorate prominent Catholic churches around the world, have responded to those calls in different ways. 

Rupnik has been accused of the sexual and psychological abuse of dozens of women under his spiritual care in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was briefly excommunicated by the Catholic Church in 2020 and expelled from the Jesuit order in 2023, but he remains a priest. The Vatican is still in the process of making a final judgment in his case.

Responding to calls that Rupnik’s works be covered or destroyed and for reproductions to be removed from websites and publications, shrines in Europe and the U.S. have covered up their now controversial mosaics. But other institutions have taken a more tolerant approach. Some authorities, including the Diocese of Rome, are waiting to see what the Vatican does before they decide what to do with his art.

Earlier this month, the official Vatican News outlet removed images of the priest’s distinctive works, inspired by artistic traditions from Eastern Christianity, from its website, after years of criticism for its use of them to illustrate pages dedicated to saints and feast days.

The Vatican’s communications dicastery did not respond to a request for comment on the recent change and whether it reflected a new policy under Pope Leo XIV. Last year, the department’s top official, Paolo Ruffini, defended leaving the images online, saying that to remove them would not be “the Christian response” and that he didn’t want to “throw stones” at the disgraced artist.

According to the Rome-based Centro Aletti, the art and theology school founded in 1993 and previously directed by Rupnik, the workshop has 232 completed mosaic and other art projects around the world — with the vast majority concentrated in Europe, especially Italy, where there are approximately 115 installations across the country.

Centro Aletti last year called the pressure to remove works of art by the studio part of “cancel culture” and the “criminalization of art.” Neither Rupnik nor the workshop responded to requests for comment for this article. 

Some calling for the art’s removal or concealment say that seeing the works in places of worship can have a traumatic effect on abuse victims, particularly since Rupnik’s accusers say he sexually abused them as they assisted him in the process of making his art.

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors sent a letter to top Vatican officials last year urging them not to display artwork, like Rupnik’s, “that could imply either exoneration or a subtle defense” of those accused of abuse. 

The secretary of the commission, Bishop Luis Manuel Alí Herrera, told EWTN News in April in response to a question about the Rupnik case that “art can be a powerful tool for healing, but the content of an artwork — and especially the identity of its creator — can be re-traumatizing for someone who has experienced these horrific crimes [of abuse].”

Francesco Zanardi, an Italian abuse survivor and founder of Rete L’Abuso, told CNA that “in this case, [Rupnik’s work] is not art, it is a symbol,” which “creates problems for the victim, above all because it maintains a link between the Church and Rupnik … an inappropriate link.”

“That it should be removed seems obvious to me,” Zanardi added. He called it “almost offensive” how much attention is on Rupnik’s artwork instead of on the harm done to the priest’s alleged victims.

Others, instead, believe that Rupnik’s art should be understood as separate from the man and his alleged crimes. Father Dino Battison, chaplain of the Shrine of Our Lady of Health of the Sick in the northern Italian region of Veneto, told CNA that the shrine will be leaving its Rupnik mosaics in place and visible.

“Beauty and the message are one thing… Mercy is another thing not to be forgotten,” he said. “How many artists have behaved badly from a moral point of view… and how many works of art should we remove or destroy.”

Rome waits on Vatican

In Rome, Rupnik’s mosaics can be found in nearly four dozen locations, including a large number of parish churches as well as hospital chapels and the chapels of religious congregations and international seminaries.

The Diocese of Rome has Rupnik art in its major seminary and at the headquarters of the diocesan branch of the international charity Caritas. A diocesan spokesperson told CNA that any decision by the diocese will need to be made in conjunction with the Holy See.

The Vatican has at least three original mosaics by the artist, including in the Redemptoris Mater chapel in the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City, in the chapel of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, and in the San Calisto Building in Rome’s Trastevere neighborhood.

Pope Francis also had at least one image by Rupnik hanging in his apartment at the Vatican guesthouse.

CNA received no response from the Vatican Press Office or the Dicastery for Communication about what the Holy See or the pope will do about the works of art.

The Jesuit order has works by its former member in five locations in Rome: in two chapels at its general curia, in the chapel of the international seminary, and in the chapels of two residences.

Rupnik’s former superior, Father Johan Verschueren, told CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, ACI Prensa, that the order is not planning to remove Rupnik mosaics from Jesuit communities for the time being, treating it as an “internal problem” because they are in private chapels closed to the public.

Verschueren said opinions about the art differ by generation, and “so far, only some younger Jesuits in formation are not happy with these mosaics. For trained Jesuits it is different.”

For some Jesuit priests, Verscheuren said, the mosaics “now function more as a mirror of our fallen human reality: We are all capable of great and terrible things at the same time. It humbles us and helps us realize that we are all sinners in need of salvation and mercy.”

International shrines act — or don’t

Rupnik’s art can be found in some of the most prominent Catholic shrines around the world, including the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The second-largest cathedral in the world, the Aparecida shrine is decorated with more than 65,600 square feet of Rupnik mosaics on its exterior depicting scenes from the Old and New Testaments.

ACI Prensa received no response from the shrine to an inquiry about the fate of the Rupnik mosaics.

At the end of March, the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, one of the most popular shrines in the world, announced it would cover mosaics by Rupnik on the entrances to the shrine’s main church between late March and early June. 

“A new symbolic step had to be taken to make the entrance to the basilica easier for all those who today cannot cross the threshold,” Lourdes Bishop Jean-Marc Micas said at the time.

Eight months prior, the Knights of Columbus covered the priest’s mosaics in the two chapels of the St. John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, D.C., and in the chapel at the Knights’ headquarters in New Haven, Connecticut, a dramatic move that represented at the time the strongest public stand by a major Catholic organization regarding the former Jesuit’s art.

“The No. 1 factor [in the decision] was compassion for victims,” Patrick Kelly, supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus, told EWTN News in 2024. “We needed to prioritize victims over anything, any material thing.”

The Shrine of Our Lady of Fátima in Portugal, which receives over 6 million visitors a year, said earlier this year it is taking a mixed approach: It has stopped using images of Rupnik’s art in any online or published materials, but it will not take down the mosaics that cover the entire back wall of the shrine’s largest and most modern worship space, the Basilica of the Holy Trinity.

In the southern Mediterranean island country of Malta, the Diocese of Gozo has said it is sticking to its decision not to remove a series of Rupnik mosaics from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of Ta’ Pinu, including one above the main door. 

Other prominent sites of Rupnik art

One of the most popular shrines in Italy, the shrine of St. Pio of Pietrelcina in San Giovanni Rotondo, also features floor-to-ceiling Rupnik mosaics in its lower church, where Catholics pray at the tomb of the Capuchin saint commonly known as Padre Pio. The mosaics along the access ramp and in the crypt were completed between 2009 and 2013.

The Capuchin Franciscan friars who run the shrine in San Giovanni Rotondo did not respond to CNA’s question about whether they would do anything about the mosaics.

An aide to the bishop of Caltagirone in Sicily, whose cathedral church features Rupnik mosaic installations from 2015 on the back wall of the sanctuary and on the front of the altar, and whose seminary chapel features a Rupnik workshop painting dating to 2023, said there was no assessment in progress about their possible removal.

After Italy, Spain is the European country with the highest concentration of works by the priest, with at least 12 separate sites featuring his art. Among them, highlights include the Madrid Cathedral (with mosaics in the sacristy, chapter house, and chapel of the Blessed Sacrament) and the Cave Sanctuary of St. Ignatius in Manresa.

The Loyola Center in Bilbao, a religious center associated with the Society of Jesus, has several mosaics designed by Rupnik as well as a Jesuit church in Seville.

In statements to ACI Prensa, José Luis García Íñiguez, coordinator of the communications office of the Jesuits in Spain, said the order’s headquarters in Rome has offered to initiate a process of reparation in an unspecified form to 20 of Rupnik’s victims, but “for now, there is no firm decision on what to do and how to do it with the mosaics.”

Montse Alvarado and Paola Arriaza contributed to this report.

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 19, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV encouraged young astronomy students at the Vatican this week to “be generous in sharing what you learn and what you experience, as best you can and however you can.”

“Surely, this must be an exciting time to be an astronomer,” Pope Leo said to scholars at the Vatican on June 16. The students gathered as part of a monthlong astronomy and astrophysics summer school program hosted by the Vatican Observatory.

The biannual summer program is taking place at the observatory’s headquarters in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, where students come from across the globe to participate. The Vatican Observatory only accepts a small group of students in their final year of undergraduate studies or first year of graduate school.

Each summer the program has a different theme and area of study. The 2025 group is exploring the universe with data from the James Webb Space Telescope, which is currently the largest telescope in space. Pope Leo called it a “truly remarkable instrument,” according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“Do not the James Webb images also fill us with wonder, and indeed a mysterious joy, as we contemplate their sublime beauty?” the pope asked. 

Students will focus on the telescope’s contributions over the last three years to the evolution of galaxies, birth of stars, and planetary systems and the origin of life.

“For the first time, we are able to peer deeply into the atmosphere of exoplanets where life may be developing and study the nebulae where planetary systems themselves are forming,” Pope Leo said.

“The authors of sacred Scripture, writing so many centuries ago, did not have the benefit of this privilege, yet their poetic and religious imagination pondered what the moment of creation must have been like.”

Pope Leo discussed scientists’ ability to trace “the ancient light of distant galaxies,” which he said “speaks of the very beginning of our universe.”

Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno, president of the Vatican Observatory, told CNA that they “were thrilled that Pope Leo was able to meet with the students and faculty of our summer school.” He said “the students have told me how much they enjoyed, and felt honored by, the chance they each had to speak briefly with him.”

“From his remarks, it’s clear that he embraces our mission to find joy in the study of God’s creation,” Consolmagno said.

He also shared that he “was especially touched” by Pope Leo’s “reference to St. Augustine’s description of the ‘seeds’ God has sown in the harmony of the universe.”

“Each of you is part of a much greater community,” Leo told the young scientists. 

“Along with the contribution of your fellow scientists, engineers, and mathematicians, it was also with the support of your families and so many of your friends that you have been able to appreciate and take part in this wonderful enterprise, which has enabled us to see the world around us in a new way.” 

“Never forget, then, that what you are doing is meant to benefit all of us,” the pope added.

“The more joy you share, the more joy you create, and in this way, through your pursuit of knowledge, each of you can contribute to building a more peaceful and just world,” he said. 

The Camino de California reconnects Catholics with the land, saints and communities that shaped the Church in the West.

Vatican City, Jun 19, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

On June 23, there will be an exclusive presentation at the Vatican of the fourth episode of the fifth season of “The Chosen,” the successful series based on the life of Jesus Christ and the apostles.

According to the Holy See Press Office, next Monday at 11:30 a.m. local time in the Marconi Hall, the cast and producers of “The Chosen” will hold a press conference to discuss the innovative and impactful series.

Jonathan Roumie, the actor who plays Jesus, will be in attendance for the presentation of the fifth season, titled “The Last Supper.” Also present will be Dallas Jenkins, creator and director of the series; Elizabeth Tabish, who portrays Mary Magdalene in the series; George Xanthis, who plays St. John; and Vanessa Benavente, who plays the Virgin Mary.

They will also discuss the release of two feature films by “The Chosen” about the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. The crucifixion episode is currently being filmed in Matera, Italy.

At the press conference, details will be shared about the production and the reasons why the series has achieved international popularity on five continents, even being watched by more than 30% of nonbelievers worldwide.

That same day, at 5 p.m. local time, the Vatican premiere of the fourth episode of the fifth season will take place at the historic Vatican Film Library.

The episode is titled “The Same Coin” and features one of the most powerful scenes in the series’ history: The women’s last supper with the “dayenu,” a beloved song sung during the Jewish holiday of Passover. 

Additionally, the Vatican announced that Roumie will present a gift from “The Chosen” to Pope Leo XIV during the June 25 general audience. Roumie met with Pope Francis twice during his pontificate.

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

COMMENTARY: Nothing in our constitutional order demands that tax dollars support only government-owned schools operated by government-employed teachers and staff.

President Donald Trump’s policies on immigration “is not policy, it is punishment,” according to Los Angeles Archbishop José Gómez.

Last week, Trump ordered the deployment of thousands of National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles following sometimes violent protests stemming from his increased efforts to deport unregistered immigrants from the city.

The president’s move has been opposed by both Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles and California Governor Gavin Newsom.

On Tuesday, Bass lifted a curfew on the city that she had imposed last week to prevent vandalism and break-ins during the protests.

In his statement issued on Angelus News, Gómez said he has “been deeply disturbed” by the reports of federal agents detaining people in public places, apparently without showing warrants or evidence that those they are taking into custody are in the country illegally.

“These actions are causing panic in our parishes and communities. People are staying home from Mass and work, parks and stores are empty, the streets in many neighborhoods are silent. Families are staying behind locked doors, out of fear. This situation is not worthy of a great nation,” the archbishop said.

As the United States prepares to mark Independence Day on July 4, Gómez noted the country “is the first nation founded on principles rooted in the Jewish and Christian Scriptures, the truth that all men and women are created equal, with God-given dignity and rights that can never be denied by any government.”

“Over the years, our leaders’ commitment has made this nation a beacon of hope for those seeking freedom and refuge from oppression. Based on these truths, this nation has become the most prosperous, most diverse, and among the most hopeful, innovative, and generous that the world has ever seen,” he said.

“But today our nation’s historic commitment to these truths is under fire in the confrontations over illegal immigration playing out in Los Angeles and cities across the country,” the archbishop said.

“We may agree that the previous administration in Washington went too far in not securing our borders and in permitting far too many people to enter our country without vetting. But the current administration has offered no immigration policy beyond the stated goal of deporting thousands of people each day,” he said.

“This is not policy, it is punishment, and it can only result in cruel and arbitrary outcomes. Already we are hearing stories of innocent fathers and mothers being wrongly deported, with no recourse to appeal,” Gómez continued.

“A great nation can take the time and care to make distinctions and judge each case on its merits,” he said.

The archbishop said it is estimated that as many as two-thirds of those in the country illegally have been living here for a decade or more.

“The vast majority of ‘illegal aliens’ are good neighbors, hardworking men and women, people of faith; they are making important contributions to vital sectors of the American economy: Agriculture, construction, hospitality, health care, and more. They are parents and grandparents, active in our communities, charities, and churches,” Gómez said.

The archbishop said it is time for a new national conversation about immigration, one that is realistic and makes necessary moral and practical distinctions about those in the United States illegally.

“I want to suggest some starting proposals for this new conversation, based on the principles of Catholic social teaching, which both recognize the duty of nations to control their borders and respects the natural rights of individuals to emigrate in search of a better life: First, we can agree that known terrorists and violent criminals should be deported, but in a way that is consistent with our values, that respects their rights to due process,” he said.

“We can tighten border security, and use technologies and other means to help employers verify the legal status of their employees. We should reform legal immigration policies to ensure that our nation has the skilled workers it needs while continuing our historic commitment to uniting families through our immigration policy,” Gómez continued.

“We should restore our moral commitments to providing asylum and protective status to genuine refugees and endangered populations. Finally, and most importantly, we should find a way to offer legal status to those who have been in our country for many years, beginning with the Dreamers,” he added, referring to people brought into the country illegally as children.

The DACA act under President Barack Obama in 2012 gave people brought to the U.S. unlawfully as children the temporary right legally to live, study and work in America, instead of living in the legal shadows, fearing deportation.

“These are not new ideas, but they are the start of a new conversation. And it is time that we start talking again and stop fighting in our streets,” Gómez said.

In his Wednesday Audience, Pope Leo XIV urged people not to lose hope, even if they “feel ‘stuck’ and locked in a dead end.”

“Sometimes it seems to us that it is useless to continue to hope; We become resigned and no longer want to fight,” he said.

Speaking in St. Peter’s Square on June 18, the pope was reflecting on the story of the paralytic man meeting Jesus Christ found in the Gospel of John.

“Jesus goes to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. He does not go to the Temple immediately; instead, he stops at a door, where the sheep were probably washed and then offered in sacrifices,” the pope explained.

“Near this door, there were also many sick people who, unlike the sheep, were excluded from the Temple because they were considered impure! And then it is Jesus himself who reaches them in their pain. These people hoped for a miracle that could change their fate; In fact, next to the door there was a swimming pool, whose waters were considered thaumaturgic, that is, capable of healing – fin some moments the water was agitated and, according to the belief of the time, whoever dived first was healed,” he continued.

Leo said a sort of “war between the poor” was created in this scenario, adding, “we can imagine the sad scene of these sick people who dragged themselves laboriously to enter the pool.”

“Jesus is specifically addressing a man who has been paralyzed for thirty-eight years. He is now resigned, because he is never able to immerse himself in the pool when the water is agitated. In fact, what paralyzes us, many times, is precisely disappointment. We feel discouraged and risk falling into sloth,” the pope said.

He notes that Jesus asks this paralytic, “Do you want to be healed?”

Leo said this was a necessary question because, “when you have been blocked for so many years, the will to heal can also fail. Sometimes we prefer to remain sick, forcing others to take care of us.”

“It is sometimes also an excuse not to decide what to do with our lives. Jesus, on the other hand, refers this man to his truest and deepest desire,” the pope explains.

The pontiff says the man responds in a way that reveals his vision of life.

“First of all, he says that he has no one to immerse him in the pool: The fault is therefore not his, but that of the others who do not take care of him. This attitude becomes the pretext to avoid assuming one’s responsibilities. But is it really true that he had no one to help him?” Leo says.

He then brings up a statement from St. Augustine: “Yes, to be healed he absolutely needed a man, but a man who was also God. […] Therefore the man who was necessary has come; Why postpone healing any longer?”

The pope says the paralytic adds that when he tries to dive into the pool there is always someone who arrives before him.

“This man is expressing a fatalistic view of life. We think that things happen to us because we are not lucky, because fate is against us. This man is discouraged. He feels defeated in the struggle of life,” the pontiff says.

“Jesus, on the other hand, helps him to discover that his life is also in his hands. He invites him to get up, to rise from his chronic situation, and to take up his stretcher. That bed should not be left or thrown away: it represents his past of illness; it is his story. Until that moment the past has blocked him; forced him to lie down like a dead man. Now he is the one who can take that stretcher and take it wherever he wants: He can decide what to do with his story! It is about walking, taking responsibility for choosing which path to take. And this is thanks to Jesus!” Leo says.

“Dear brothers and sisters, let us ask the Lord for the gift of understanding where our lives have stopped. Let’s try to give voice to our desire to heal. And let us pray for all those who feel paralyzed, who see no way out. Let us ask to return to dwell in the Heart of Christ which is the true house of mercy,” he adds.

At the end of the Audience, he said “the heart of the Church is torn by the cries that rise from the places of war,” and particularly pointed out Ukraine, Iran, Israel, Gaza.

“We must not get used to war! On the contrary, the fascination with powerful and sophisticated armaments must be rejected as a temptation. In fact, since in today’s war ‘scientific weapons of all kinds are used, its atrocity threatens to lead the combatants to a barbarism far superior to that of former times’ [quoting Vatican II.]Therefore, in the name of human dignity and international law, I repeat to those responsible what Pope Francis used to say: war is always a defeat! And with Pius XII: ‘Nothing is lost with peace. Everything can be with war’,” Leo said.

During the audience, the pope also gave a special greeting goes to the members of the “HOPE80” international delegation at the start of the “Flame of Hope” pilgrimage as they seek to promote reconciliation and peace in the year marking the 80thanniversary of the end of the Second World War.

“May the light of Divine love and fraternity always burn brightly in the hearts of the men and women of our one human family,” Leo said.

Follow Charles Collins on X: @CharlesinRome

Vatican City, Jun 18, 2025 / 06:03 am (CNA).

After a turn in the popemobile to greet thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the general audience on Wednesday, Pope Leo XIV continued his catechesis on “Jesus Christ, Our Hope.”

The pope reminded listeners that Jesus is capable of healing and unblocking the past, which at times paralyzes us — inviting us to move forward and decide what to do with our own history.

The Church: A house of mercy

The Holy Father invited the faithful to reflect on moments in which “we feel ‘stuck’ and trapped in a dead end,” where it seems “pointless to keep hoping — we resign ourselves and no longer have the strength to fight.”

Referring to the Gospel passage from John 5:1–9, which recounts the healing of a paralytic, the pope said that it is Jesus who “reaches people in their pain” — the sick and those who had been cast out of the Temple for being considered unclean.

These people, the Holy Father recalled, hoped to get well in a pool whose waters were believed to have healing powers. According to the custom of the time, the first person to plunge into the pool when the water stirred would be healed.

“That pool was called Betzatà, which means ‘house of mercy.’ It could be seen as an image of the Church, where the sick and the poor gather, and to which the Lord comes to heal and bring hope,” he added.

The paralysis of disillusionment

Jesus then approaches a man who had been paralyzed for 38 years and had never managed to enter the pool. The Pope pointed out that “what often paralyzes us is precisely disillusionment. We feel discouraged and risk falling into neglect.” When Jesus speaks to the paralytic, he asks a “necessary” question: “Do you want to be healed?”

“Sometimes we prefer to remain in the condition of being sick, forcing others to take care of us. It can also become an excuse to avoid deciding what to do with our lives. But Jesus leads this man back to his true and deepest desire,” Leo XIV said.

The paralytic, feeling defeated, replies that he has no one to help him into the pool — an attitude which, according to the pope, “becomes a pretext for avoiding personal responsibility.”

Regarding the man’s fatalistic view of life, the pope said that at times “we think things happen to us because we are unlucky, or because fate is against us. This man is discouraged. He feels defeated by life’s struggles.”

With Jesus, we discover that life is in our hands

Nevertheless, Jesus “helps him discover that his life is also in his own hands. He invites him to rise up from his chronic condition and take up his mat. That mat is not thrown away or abandoned: it represents his past illness — his history,” the pope continued.

The past, he explained, had kept the man stuck, forcing him “to lie there like someone already dead.” But thanks to Jesus, he is able to “carry that mat and take it wherever he wants — he can decide what to do with his history. It’s a matter of walking forward, taking responsibility for choosing which path to take.”

Finally, the pope invited the faithful to ask the Lord “for the gift of understanding where in our life we have become stuck. Let us try to give voice to our desire for healing. And let us pray for all those who feel paralyzed and see no way out,” he said.

ACI MENA, Jun 18, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Amid renewed tensions in the Middle East, the Syriac Catholic Archeparchy of Mosul and its surrounding areas has continued its tradition of celebrating first holy Communion for children in Qaraqosh (Baghdeda), Iraq. Over 450 boys and girls received the sacrament during liturgies held over the past month in various churches of the town.

In his homilies during the celebrations, Archbishop Benedictus Hanno praised the steadfast faith of the local Christian community, emphasizing their determination to return to their ancestral homeland despite the suffering they endured due to forced displacement. 

“When we see this radiant group receiving the body of Christ in faith, we know our families remain firm in their commitment, and our Church continues to grow and flourish,” he said.

Hanno also highlighted the vital role of Catholic families in nurturing the faith of their children: “When the father and mother are united in faith, the family becomes a fortified castle, capable of resisting temptation, evil, and moral deviation,” he said.

The archbishop stressed that these celebrations are “a great joy for our Church and a living testimony to the renewal and perseverance of Christian faith.”

Christians from Qaraqosh and neighboring towns were forcibly displaced from their historic homeland in the Nineveh Plain when ISIS seized the region on Aug. 6, 2014. 

“They did not hesitate to give up their homes and possessions in order to preserve their faith… they are persecuted for their belief, and there is nothing more noble than holding onto one’s faith,” Hanno said in an earlier interview with ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner.

Despite the large-scale emigration of Christians from Iraq, many have returned to Qaraqosh after its liberation in 2017, determined to rebuild their churches and homes and to remain rooted in their land.

Qaraqosh — known in Syriac as “Baghdeda” and located in Iraq’s northern Nineveh province — remains one of the country’s largest Christian towns. However, the number of Christians has declined from about 60,000 before 2014 to around 30,000 today.

According to the Syriac Catholic Archeparchy’s chancery office, the number of Syriac Catholics alone dropped from 55,000 before the ISIS occupation to just 27,000 today, not including Christians from other churches.

During his historic visit to Iraq in 2021, Pope Francis visited Qaraqosh and met with the faithful at the Grand Immaculate Conception Cathedral.

This story was first published by ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner. It has been translated for and adapted by CNA.