Chaldean Mass in Banneux, Belgium

By Baghdadhope

Also this year Mgr. Philip Najim, Procurator of the Chaldean church to the Holy See and Apostolic Visitor for Europe made an apostolic journey visiting Denmark, Holland and Belgium. All countries that, even less than others such as Sweden and Germany, are home to many Chaldean families who left Iraq both before and after the last war of 2003.

In an interview with Baghdadhope Mgr. Najim described this experience.

"First of all I went to Denmark where about 400 Chaldean families live, concentrated in Copenhagen and in Arhus, the second largest city in the country, and where I will return on next December for the inauguration of the first church dedicated to the Chaldean rite in Denmark. Months ago, in fact, an agreement was signed with the Catholic bishop of Copenhagen, Mgr. Czeslaw Kozon and on September the works will begin in the church for the official opening. The church, which will also have a hall able to accommodate 70 people and where to carry out pastoral activities serve the community of Copenhagen. That of Arhus, 300 km from the capital, will continue to attend the local church of the Jesuits. After Denmark I went to meet the community who lives in Holland and has about 750 families in six cities and I celebrated a mass in Born"

Then the meeting in Banneux, in the place of the Marian apparitions at Mariette Beco in 1933 ..

"Yes, like every year, the Chaldean community in Europe gathers in Banneux where a mass is celebrated in the Shrine of Our Lady of the Poor on August 15.

Given the concomitant presence in Europe of Mgr. Shleimun Warduni, Patriarch Vicar of Baghdad who in those days had celebrated the ordination of three sub-deacons for the Chaldean church in Stuttgart, the mass was celebrated by him while I was entrusted with the preaching. There were about 3500 people from many European countries and even some families from the United States. There were also several priests. Father Sami Al Rais from Essen, Father Cesar Sliwa from Stuttgart, Father Ra'ad Washan from Vienna, Father Faris Toma from Denmark, Father Suleyman Oz from Belgium, a priest actually studying in Rome and two Chaldean monks who live in Rome. The two hours long mass was followed by a meeting with the community in the gardens of the Shrine. All the day was a moment of beautiful and important spiritual communion climate. The presence of Mgr. Warduni as a representative of the Patriarchate testified the attention to the diaspora in these difficult times, and was also an opportunity to bring together the European community and their priests."
In view of the imminent spiritual retreat to be held in Greece?

"Yes. In early September at the church of the Byzantine Catholic Exarchate in Athens where our community meets, there will be a spiritual retreat for the priests in Europe that I will preside. After it, and thanks to the kindness of Archbishop Dimitrios Salachas, we will spend a few days of vacation in a house of the arcbishopric near the sea. It will be a way for priests to know each other better and exchange their impressions and ideas on the role of pastors of the diaspora communities."

A nice way to end your apostolic journey ..

"Certainly. It has been a good experience crowned by the success of another church for the Chaldean community in Europe and by the presence of so many priests and faithful who showed through it their strong bond with the church, a bond not broken by their being far from their motherland. The bond that made and makes us strong."