Jesuits in Mesopotamia

Fifty-five years after the expulsion of the Jesuits of Al Hikma University from Iraq in 1969—the Jesuits of Baghdad College had already been expelled in 1968—the Jesuits have bought a house in Baghdad.
The property in Karrada, a central neighbourhood of Baghdad city, is not yet habitable and needs extensive renovation. The house will serve as legal address for registering the Jesuits as a religious community under the Latin Bishopric of Baghdad. Upon completion of works, the two-floor house will be able to accommodate three Jesuits and will have meeting and conference spaces as well as a small chapel.
The well-constructed buildings of Baghdad College and Al Hikma University, situated a few kilometres apart in Sulaikh and Za’afraniya neighbourhoods respectively, are still standing. Baghdad College is still one of the top government schools for boys. The former Al Hikma is now the Middle Technical University. Both had been expropriated without compensation, although the church of Baghdad College was subsequently entrusted to the custody of Chaldean Catholic Church. Later, the church had been vandalized and was deconsecrated. Significantly, the graves of five American Jesuits who had served in Baghdad lie within the perimeter of the church that is listed as a historical heritage building. The purchase of the property in Karrada could be instrumental for the recovery of the church and its registration under the endowment of the Latin Bishopric of Baghdad as well as for seeking to obtain some form of compensation for the remaining expropriated properties.
These efforts are not an exercise to turn the clock back. Rather, the guiding vision is to listen to the Holy Spirit, to understand how Jesuits may selflessly and creatively serve God’s children in Iraq in the future. Formation of Christians in the faith, spiritual support to sisters and priests, and reaching out to the youth of the country feature prominently among the pastoral challenges and opportunities of this long-suffering country. The harvest is indeed great.

Fr. Joseph Cassar, SJ