Iraq: Chaldean Catholic Patriarch celebrates Christmas Mass in a tent

Tent Mass

In a spirit of solidarity with his displaced flocks, the Chaldean Patriarch Louis Sako travelled to Ainkawa in northern Iraq where he celebrated Christmas Eve Mass with Christian refugees, in a large tent.

In his homily to the displaced congregation, the Patriarch said: “We are celebrating the birth of Christ under painful circumstances because you are separated from your homes and friends. But this is not the end of the world. Jesus’ birth revives hope in us that we may return to what we have left, to rebuild what has been damaged, reform what has been ruined, reunite what has been divided, and bring back home those who have been displaced.

“Was not Jesus born away from his hometown and house? Was he not persecuted and moved to Egypt then came back?” he asked.

The Mass was attended by several foreign dignitaries and the prime minister of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, Nechervan Barzani together with more than 2000 parishioners.