In city liberated from Islamic State, Iraqi bishop celebrates first Mass in over two years

Syrian Catholic Archbishop Youhanna Petros Mouche of Mosul presided at a Mass in Qaragosh, Iraq, on October 30 - the first time that Mass had been celebrated in the city sine the Islamic State seized the region two years ago.

As an international force nears Mosul, Qaragosh was liberated from the Islamic State last week, and returning Christians found the cathedral of the Immaculate Conception largely intact - although pews had been overturned, graffiti scrawled across the walls, and fires damaged the interior. 

The archbishop told the AsiaNews service that the cathedral was a vital symbol of the people of Qaragosh. 

“If we had not found it as it is now - if it had really been destroyed - the Qaragosh people would not want to return,” he said.