Nearly 700 young Christians gather in Iraq for Baghdeda Youth Festival

The sixth Baghdeda Youth Festival concluded Saturday, Sept. 12, with a large faith procession that brought together nearly 700 young men and women, led by Bishop Benedictus Younan Hanno of the Syriac Catholic Diocese of Mosul and its dependencies, along with former diocesan bishops Yohanna Boutros Moshe and Georges al-Qass Moussa, priests, religious men and women, and thousands of faithful.

The procession, which organizers called the “Hosanna Procession,” began at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Baghdeda, also widely known as Qaraqosh — a predominantly Christian town on Iraq’s Nineveh Plains. Participants followed the traditional Palm Sunday procession route toward St. John Church.

Along the way, young people and other faithful prayed, sang hymns, and chanted while carrying olive branches as a symbol of peace. The procession concluded with the “Service of the Cross — Teshmeshta,” a prayer service from the Syriac tradition, followed by the lighting of the festival torch.

Before setting out from the cathedral, participants attended a spiritual conference titled “St. Francis: A Living Model for Our Young People in Living Hope,” presented by Dominican Father Nuwairan Nasser. He encouraged the young people to follow the example of St. Francis of Assisi, seeking to embody his spiritual values in their daily lives and to live more deeply the meaning of the festival’s theme.

‘In the footsteps of St. Francis’

The festival began Thursday under the theme “In the Footsteps of St. Francis.” The opening program included a spiritual reflection by Hanno titled “Leave Everything That Makes You Lose Yourself.”

The bishop stressed the importance of understanding Christian freedom as a free response of obedience to God rather than as freedom without accountability or responsibility. His reflection drew on the festival’s theme and the life of St. Francis.

Participants then divided into groups for pilgrimages and prayer at several churches in Baghdeda, including St. Ephrem the Syriac Church, Sts. Behnam and Sarah Church, St. James the Mutilated Church, St. John the Baptist Church, and St. Joseph Church.

Mosul welcomes Baghdeda’s young Christians

The festival’s second day included visits to restored churches belonging to the diocese in Mosul, a city where the Christian community suffered severe persecution and displacement during the occupation of the Islamic State group.

The young people began at St. Thomas Church and continued to the Church of the Immaculate Conception, both in Mosul’s Old City, before concluding at Our Lady of the Annunciation Church on the city’s eastern side.

Residents greeted the crowds of young Christians and welcomed what organizers described as “the renewed Christian presence in the community’s historic homeland.”

The day also featured a spiritual conference titled “Forgive So That You May Be Free,” presented by Chorbishop Emmanuel Kallo, the bishop’s special vicar and official responsible for the Syriac Catholic churches in Mosul.

Kallo reflected on the Christian understanding of forgiveness and explained how forgiving others can help free a person from the burden and pain caused by wrongdoing.

The young people also participated in Eucharistic adoration at Our Lady of the Annunciation Church.

This story was first published by ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Source: https://www.ewtnnews.com/world/middle-east/nearly-700-young-christians-gather-in-iraq-for-baghdeda-youth-festival