Church destroyed by ISIS in Iraq completely restored 10 years later
The Dominican Church of Our Lady of the Hour, one of the most emblematic in Mosul, northern Iraq, has been completely restored after the destruction carried out by Islamic State terrorists 10 years ago.
Father Olivier Poquillon, director of the French Biblical and Archaeological School of Jerusalem, posted on X Dec. 31 some photographs of the church, which was rebuilt with the collaboration of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
That same day, on the occasion of the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, the Dominicans of Iraq celebrated a Mass for peace in the church for the first time since its destruction. The Eucharist was celebrated by Father Gerard Francisco Timoner, superior general of the Dominican order, in the presence of several friars and believers in an atmosphere of joy and hope.
The Latin Church of Our Lady of the Hour, whose official name in Arabic is al-Saa’a, was established in 1873 as the center of the Dominican presence in Iraq.
It was also an important cultural and academic center, including the first girls’ school, and it had the first printing press in Iraq.
