Work has begun to rebuild a Christian church in Iraq destroyed by the Islamic State as part of a partnership between the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the Muslim-majority United Arab Emirates.
UNESCO announced last week that construction has commenced on the Conventual Church of Our Lady of the Hour in Mosul. Mosul was once Iraq’s second-largest city before it was overrun by the Islamic State terrorist group in 2014 but liberated by U.S.-backed coalition forces in 2017.
“With the official approval from The Dominican order, UNESCO — in close collaboration with relevant authorities — will now start the stabilization and rehabilitation of The Conventual Church of Our Lady of the Hour in Mosul,” the international body said in a statement.
“This project’s component will include all the phases of a stabilization and rehabilitation project — from site clearance and initial survey to the preparation of the detailed design for the actual execution of the works.”
The church, also known as Al-Saa’a Church, was built in the 1800s and is located at the heart of the Old City of Mosul. The church is also known as “The Clock Church” because it was gifted a clock in 1880 by Empress Eugenie of France, the wife of Emperor Napoleon III.
The church was blown up by the Islamic State.
According to UNESCO, the church has always been considered one of the area’s iconic landmarks and was a “living example of the brotherhood between Moslawis.”
“The rehabilitation of this church is important not only because of its value as cultural heritage but also as a testimony to the diversity of the city, a proud crossroads of cultures and a peaceful haven for different religious communities over the centuries,” UNESCO said.
International Christian Concern, a U.S.-based advocacy group, reports that Al-Saa’a Church represents the “long historical presence” of Christianity in Mosul.
Samuel Smith, CP Reporter