Supporting the Life and Ministry of Four Monks in Iraq

Karamles, or Karamlesh, was an ancient city and is now a small town, 18 miles southeast of Mosul in the Nineveh Plains region of northern Iraq. It is a mainly Christian town, with the majority belonging to the Chaldean Catholic Church.  

In August 2014, Karamles was overtaken by fighters of the so-called Islamic State (IS), and almost all its inhabitants were forced to flee. When Pope Francis visited Iraq in March of 2021, he celebrated Holy Mass in Erbil, where he blessed a statue of Our Lady, brought from Karamles, that was beheaded by terrorists and subsequently restored. Following the defeat of IS, it was brought back to the city, along with many of the city’s Christian families. ACN has provided massive support for the rebuilding of Christian towns and villages in the Nineveh Plains area, including Karamles.  

Today, the Church of Our Lady in Karamles is in the care of four monks from the congregation of the Brothers of the Holy Cross, which was founded in Lebanon. They live a strict life of radical poverty, in imitation of Christ, trusting completely in divine providence. They support themselves with joinery work and in their local bookshop, where they hope to awaken a love of reading among the people. Their pastoral work includes comforting the sick, elderly, and handicapped, and supporting them not only spiritually but also, among other things, with practical work that they can no longer do themselves. They also bring the sacraments to the sick and dying, and support them with loving care; they give talks on spiritual subjects, addressed especially to young people; they offer pastoral outreach to young men; and they have a special love of Eucharistic adoration and strive to foster love of the Eucharist among the faithful. Of course, they celebrate the Eucharist daily and the Marian feasts with particular devotion, and they strive to help people with various problems and resolve conflicts. 

Father Adday Babaca tells us, “We entrust our whole lives into the hands of Jesus and beg Him to grant us the grace to carry out His will, at every time and in every place.“ 

We plan to support these four monks with basic support of $6,300 for their life and precious ministry. Will you join us?

319-06-39