Watching the pope pray amid the rubble of his homeland
A local man discusses the joy and hope in seeing the Holy Father preaching unity and brotherhood in his native Iraq Sarmad Ghazala photographed receiving his first communion in Iraq. The Chaldean Catholic left his native Iraq 27 years ago. (Courtesy Sarmad Ghazala)
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“I was baptized there. My parents were married here. My wife, she was baptized there.”
Ghazala, a member of Our Lady of the Lake Parish in Lake Oswego, moved to the United States around age 27 and has lived here ever since.
As the pope traveled through the Middle Eastern country, Ghazala recognized so many places.
Pope Francis arrives to celebrate Mass at St. Joseph Chaldean Catholic Cathedral in Baghdad March 6, 2021. (CNS/Paul Haring)
The papal trip to Iraq held great promise. Pope Francis would be the first pope, ever, in Iraq. He would be the first pope, ever, to meet with Muslim leaders there. He would be the first pope, ever, to celebrate Mass in the Chaldean Rite.
Yes, on visiting Iraq; yes, on meeting with Muslim leaders there; not quite on Mass in the ancient Chaldean Rite.
Don t get me wrong. The Chaldean Mass the pope celebrated was beautiful, even if some of its parts seemed to occur in the wrong order to Romanized eyes, and the actions and prayers were different. But it was not quite the ancient ritual. More on that later.
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