The whole Christian Mosul, and not only that, crowded today the church of St. Paul where in a two-hours ceremony Msgr. Faraj P. Raho was remembered after exactly one year from the date of his funeral.
The body of the bishop, transferred early in the morning from Karamles with exceptional security measures, has now finally found its final place. The same Msgr. Raho wrote in his will his desire to be buried in the church that he founded even specifying the place, the right side of the church where the choir sits.
The ceremony, led by the Chaldean Patriarch vicar, Msgr. Shleimun Warduni, saw the participation of many religious representatives. There was, of course, the pastor of St.Paul church, Father Basman Al Dammar, the young priest (27 years old )who, ordered in 2006, after the death of Msgr. Raho had to manage a very difficult situation as patriarchal administrator that had its climax in the wave of violence that on last autumn hit the Christian community in the city causing 14 deaths and the flight of thousands of terrified people to the surrounding countryside or abroad.
There were two bishops of Mosul, Msgr. Gregorius Saliba Chamoun, of the Syriac Orthodox Church and Msgr. Basilius George Alqas Musa, of the Syriac Catholic church. There were other priests, young and the disabled guests of the Charity and Joy oasis, the house founded by Msgr. Raho in 1986 and now co-ordinated by Msgr. Warduni, the Chaldean sisters of the city, including those operating a house for young orphan girls and their assisted. There were many responsible of the government, including the outgoing and the newly appointed mayors of the city, and a general in charge of security and peace-making.
Baghdadhope asked to Msgr. Warduni a memory of the day.
"It was beautiful and moving, the church was crowded. Everyone wanted to honor the memory of the late Msgr. Raho. The coffin in which he had been buried was placed inside another coffin, and now he rests in peace in the church that he founded and had him as the pastor."
The text of your homily will be published tomorrow by the Chaldean Patriarchate website but can you give us a hint about what you said to the faithful?
The text of your homily will be published tomorrow by the Chaldean Patriarchate website but can you give us a hint about what you said to the faithful?
"What I said was inspired by Psalm 111. The memory of Msgr.Raho will last forever. His death, occurred in such a tragical way, gives us the certainty that the saints in heaven pray for us. I reminded the faithful as the Holy Father praised the courage of the believers and the martyrs, and that on last January when all of us, Iraqi bishops gathered in Rome for the ad limina visit, gave him a cope of Msgr. Raho and a stole of Father Ragheed Ganni it was suggested to save them in the church of St.Bartolomeo, on the Tiberina Island in Rome where, for the will of Pope John Paul II, the martyrs of the twentieth century are remembered.
As men we suffer from violent death, but as sons of God we ask him to forgive those who commit such acts because they don’t know what they do. Physically Msgr. Raho is not more with us but he is in heaven among the martyrs of the faith and we ask his intercession for peace and security, for Iraq, for the clergy and for young people so that they can remain firm in their faith and can continue to live in their own country.
We are Iraqis, original inhabitants of this land, and it is this identity that unites us all. With all the faithful I asked to the Holy Virgin and to St. Paul, the saint whom Msgr.Raho loved more, to help us to live the charity and love. God is love. And it is the love we need for reconciliation."
As men we suffer from violent death, but as sons of God we ask him to forgive those who commit such acts because they don’t know what they do. Physically Msgr. Raho is not more with us but he is in heaven among the martyrs of the faith and we ask his intercession for peace and security, for Iraq, for the clergy and for young people so that they can remain firm in their faith and can continue to live in their own country.
We are Iraqis, original inhabitants of this land, and it is this identity that unites us all. With all the faithful I asked to the Holy Virgin and to St. Paul, the saint whom Msgr.Raho loved more, to help us to live the charity and love. God is love. And it is the love we need for reconciliation."
What about the families who left Mosul on last October?
"I can say that about 80% of them returned to their homes and their occupations. A sign of normalization that gives us hope. "
Photos in the next post:
Photos in the next post:
On the left Father Jibrail Toma, general abbot of the order of St. Hormizd of the Chaldeans in the ceremony of commemoration at the monastery of Dair Al Saida in Alqosh.
On the right Father Raymond Moussalli, Chaldean Patriarchal Vicar in Jordan and Msgr. Michael Crotty, Vatican chargé d'affaires in Jordan and Iraq in the commemoration ceremony in Amman.