Begun in 1907 and inaugurated in 1930, the Gothic style building was designed by Italian architects.  In the war between Iran and Iraq, it became a refugee camp for poor families.  3877 children baptized inside.  After the restoration, it will be a “sanctuary open for everyone”.

By Dennis Sadowski • Catholic News Service • Posted July 18, 2019

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Chaldean Christians in northern Iraq are determined to continue their 2,000-year-long mission despite the near-deadly blow inflicted by Islamic State forces and new challenges from nongovernment militias, said a priest ministering in the region.

The patriarch is concerned about the escalation between Washington and Tehran. A conflict would precipitate the situation across the Middle East. As Iraqi Christians and Muslims look forward to the apostolic journey, the latter remains uncertain, whilst confusion and suffering affect the country.

A new paragraph has appeared in the invitation received by the bishops of the Chaldean Church to their next synod.
“I encourage each of you to choose one or two laypeople, of either sex, from your diocese to participate in the meetings of the first two days of the 2019 Synod,” wrote Cardinal Louis Sako, the patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans.

Cardinal Louis Raphael I Sako, the Chaldean Catholic patriarch, speaks during the presentation of the UK Independent Review on Persecution of Christians, in Rome July 15, 2019. Looking on is Msgr. Antoine Camilleri, an official at the Vatican Secretariat of State. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

A Chaldean woman holds a photo of Donald Trump during a protest in Detroit. Photograph: Tanya Moutzalias/AP Trump administration wants to deport more than 1,400 Iraqi nationals, most of who are Chaldean – Iraqi Catholics who saw Trump as a ‘savior’ but now feel ‘betrayed’

Cardinal Louis Raphael I Sako, the Chaldean Catholic patriarch, speaks during the presentation of the UK Independent Review on Persecution of Christians, in Rome July 15, 2019. At left is

By Dale Gavlak Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, Cardinal Louis Sako, addresses the faithful during a service at at Mar Youssif Church in Baghdad, Iraq, April 14, 2019. 

Tonia Khouri, vice president of the In Defense of Christians’ board of directors, addresses guests at the In Defense of Christians Ecumenical Prayer Service July

By Lindsay Elizabeth Author 17 hours ago A recent car bomb in Syria targeting a church shows that Christians are still the main target of the Islamic State.

CNS photo/Dalia Khamissy Syriac Catholic Father Youssef Sakat shows a photograph of a door at Mar Behnam Monastery July 8, 2019. The monastery, which is located near Mosul, Iraq, was destroyed by Islamic State forces in 2014. (CNS photo/Dalia Khamissy) See MAR-BEHNAM-MANUSCRIPTS July 16, 2019.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will host a three-day religious freedom conference on Tuesday (AFP/File photo)Trump’s Muslim ban cited as main reason not to attend the conference, says National Council of Canadian Muslims

Aleppo’s infrastructure needs reconstruction, but Facebook group the Encyclopedia of Popular Aleppian Proverbs is also trying to rebuild the city’s ties to its culture and history. Photograph: Joseph Eid/AFP/Getty Images

Mar Afram Athneil, the bishop of Syria, is also the chairman of the charity. Picture: Assyrian Church of the East Relief Organization (13814575)

A story in The Times alleged that the Assyrian Church of the East Relief Organisation paid a ransom to free 226 Christians taken hostage in 2015

Cardinal Louis Raphael I Sako, the Chaldean Catholic patriarch, speaks during the presentation of the UK Independent Review on Persecution of Christians, in Rome July 15, 2019. Looking on is Msgr. Antoine Camilleri, an official at the Vatican Secretariat of State. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

In this Monday, Dec. 18, 2017 photo, Louis Raphael Sako, Chaldean Patriarch speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Baghdad, Iraq. (Credit: AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed.)

By AFP It has been five years since the Islamic State group swept across Sinjar, a mountainous corner of northwest Iraq home to an ethno-religious minority known as the Yazidis.

Miami Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski participates in a discussion about El Salvador’s root causes of poverty, violence and migration at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington April 13. (Credit: CNS.)

By Sirwan Kajjo A suicide attack claimed by Islamic State (IS) near a church in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli shows that Christians remain a major target of the terror group, local officials and experts say.