Photo Album: History in the Ankawa District of Erbil (Iraq)

The first Mass in Iraq in honor of Saint Josemaria Escriva was celebrated on 24 June 2023 at the church of St. Anthony the Great in Erbil.

Francisco Moya and Lito Articona mobilized to have the Mass in honor of St. Josemaria in Erbil, Iraq.

24 June 2023 was a historical day for the Christian community in Erbil, the ancient capital of Iraq's Kurdistan Region.

The first Mass in Iraq in honor of Opus Dei founder Saint Josemaria Escriva was celebrated at the church of St. Anthony the Great in the Ankawa district of Erbil, home to Christian faithful (up to 8,000 families) of the Assyrian Church, Chaldean Church, Syrian Catholic Eparchy, Syriac Orthodox Eparchy, Armenian Church and Latin Church, among others.

Lito Articona, a Filipino based in Erbil, does project management work for the Office of the Chaldean Archbishop. Dr. Francisco Moya, a Spanish anthropologist based in Seville, makes trips to Erbil to study in depth the Scriptures in the Aramaic language. The two planned and organized the event.

Dr. Moya visits the monastery of the Chaldean Congregation of Antonian Order of St. Hormidz in Erbil, which is renowned for its collection of ancient Syriac manuscripts. Father Samer Soreshow Yohanna, the superior general of the monastic order, readily agreed to celebrate the Mass in their church.

In this feature, we capture the highlights of the event in photos and quotations from the persons who were present.

“It is close to 6:00 p.m. and we see people arrive, passing through the main gate that leads to the large square in front of the church. We see families, children carried by their parents, and elderly persons in wheelchairs.” – Michaela Abrahamowicz, medical surgeon from Austria
“People stop by the table near the stair entrance. They all took prayer cards and the mass booklets (in Aramaic). Each one expressed personal joy at being there.” – Michaela Abrahamowicz (above in red)
“It was heartwarming to see the pews filled. We prepared 150 Mass booklets and we ran out. Some 170 came.” - Lito Articona, Filipino based in Erbil
“The Mass began with bells and songs in Aramaic.” – Michaela Abrahamowicz, medical surgeon from Austria
Rev. Father Samer Soreshow Yohanna, the superior general of the Chaldean Antonian Order of St Hormidz, was the main concelebrant of the Mass.
The Mass was in the Chaldean rite. The prayers and readings were in Aramaic. Father Samer preached the homily in Arabic.
“[St. Josemaría] taught his fellow men to be faithful each day of their lives because they can be witnesses of Christ. They should put into action what they hear and can be witnesses to God in their work, at their home, husband and wife loving each other, teachers teaching with all their heart…” - Excerpt from Father Samer’s homily
“I am sure that among us here in this congregation there are saints. We are all called to be saints by being docile to the word of God and putting it into action.” - Excerpt from Father Samer’s homily
“We are very happy to celebrate the memory of Saint Josemaria Escriva, a saint from Spain, of the Universal Catholic Church. We should know him. And now he is honored even in Iraq. Our Saints of the Oriental Church are also already known to the western world and here we are showing communion, fraternity or brotherhood, as believers in Jesus Christ.” - Excerpt from Father Samer’s homily
“The church is beautiful and the the Holy Mass was very solemn. Are you going to have this every week? No? Please do have your activities soon.“ - Waheda Syaosh, mother and resident of Ankawa
“After the Mass, Fr Samer, six priests and deacons, two religious sisters, and everyone who attended went on procession with the image of Saint Josemaria, singing traditional Aramaic hymns, towards the shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary.” - Lito Articona
“At the end of the procession, Father Samer blessed the crowd with the Saint’s image and placed it on display next to the image of the Blessed Virgin.” - Lito Articona
Father Samer posed with a child that he had recently baptized. “Holiness is an invitation to every Christian believer that begins with the holy and Christian baptism who discovered the love of God in his life that he cannot keep for himself, but to testify to this love for everyone at home and the workplace and at every moment and meeting.” - Excerpt from Father Samer’s homily
“There was piety and joy, normalcy and greatness. An early evening with pleasant weather and the sunset beginning to temper the atmosphere of beauty... after the ceremonies, everyone in pleasant conversation went from group to group, while sharing a traditional delicacy prepared and contributed by the parishioners.” – Naneka Horta, medical doctor from Portugal
“I am so glad we are here; the celebration of the Mass of the saint was so elating. Everyone, those attending and celebrating were like one big happy family. Thank you for inviting us.” - Samir and Jean Nabaty (first and second at left), residents of Ankawa
“The Holy Mass was great. We are very happy and the people are all happy. We are thankful to Abuna Samer for telling us about the Saint.” - Sarmad Kunda (at right) and Wafa Kunda Yousif (at left) wife of Sarmad, residents of Ankawa
“This extraordinary event united believers from different corners of the world, fostering a sense of communion and fraternity among the believers of Jesus Christ.” - Lito Articona
"But how is it possible? I have traveled to Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Rome… and I get to discover him here, only now in Erbil! Being introduced to this saint and getting to know about him… for me he is a great saint!” - Jamila Kika (third from right), resident of Ankawa
“This Christian community in Ankawa has an advantage: It is one of the few communities that have not had to translate Hebrew into Aramaic and Aramaic into their vernacular language, because they all spoke Aramaic and read the Torah in Hebrew. With that deep spirituality they have sufficed and they have remained faithful to the Catholic faith.” – Francisco Moya, anthropologist from Spain
“I did not expect so many people who approached me and asked me for activities of Christian formation, for help to be closer to God… and we came here to be helped by them. The Chaldean people are the source we need in the West if we want to go deeper in our understanding of the Word of God.” - Francisco Moya (at left), anthropologist from Spain
“They ask for more information about the Saint that they had just met, to ask for possible courses about the saint and his spirit, which attracted them with such vigor, surprising even Abuna Samer who said that this extraordinary positive reaction of the people present here must be the hand of God working.” - Naneka Horta (third from left), medical doctor from Portugal
“It is clear that Saint Josemaria interceded in having this Mass celebrated amongst these devoted Christian community in Ankawa.” – Francisco Moya, anthropologist from Spain
Child with Mass booklet in Aramaic

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