First communion in Mosul, where shots became “fireworks”
The Chaldean parish priest of the Church of the Holy Spirit talks about the celebration of the first Holy Communion of 80 children while the city was struck by car bombs and shooting. “United, we pray for peace in Iraq and also in Lebanon and the rest of the world.”
IRAQ,Mosul (AsiaNews) – Joy and terror sometimes coexist in Iraq where the population is now resigned to daily life amid mortar shots and suicide bombs. This is how the Christians of Mosul, the city’s third largest country, will remember 4 August: as a day of “immense joy” and “terrible panic”. Violent clashes marked the Friday when 80 children of the Chaldean parish of the Holy Spirit received their first Holy Communion. The young parish priest, Fr Ragheed Ganni, told AsiaNews how he turned gunshots into fireworks not to spoil this special day of celebration.
“We started our celebration at 7.30am,” he said. “The church was packed and everybody was so happy. Suddenly we heard explosions and shots close to the church. Although people are used to it and remained reasonably calm, they started to wonder whether they were going to make it back to their homes or not. I was aware of the immense joy of the 80 children receiving their first Communion so I turned the subject into a joke and said to them: ‘Do not panic, these are fire works. The city is celebrating with us.’ And at the same time I gave them instructions to leave the church quietly and quickly.”
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IRAQ,Mosul (AsiaNews) – Joy and terror sometimes coexist in Iraq where the population is now resigned to daily life amid mortar shots and suicide bombs. This is how the Christians of Mosul, the city’s third largest country, will remember 4 August: as a day of “immense joy” and “terrible panic”. Violent clashes marked the Friday when 80 children of the Chaldean parish of the Holy Spirit received their first Holy Communion. The young parish priest, Fr Ragheed Ganni, told AsiaNews how he turned gunshots into fireworks not to spoil this special day of celebration.
“We started our celebration at 7.30am,” he said. “The church was packed and everybody was so happy. Suddenly we heard explosions and shots close to the church. Although people are used to it and remained reasonably calm, they started to wonder whether they were going to make it back to their homes or not. I was aware of the immense joy of the 80 children receiving their first Communion so I turned the subject into a joke and said to them: ‘Do not panic, these are fire works. The city is celebrating with us.’ And at the same time I gave them instructions to leave the church quietly and quickly.”
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posted by VIVA at 4:02 PM
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