A Swiss monstrance for Iraqi Christians – Swiss Catholic Portal

The Geneva goldsmith François Reusse went to bring to Iraq, at the beginning of April 2024, a monstrance he made, as a sign of support for local Christians. With Naseem Asmaroo, a Chaldean priest officiating in Switzerland, they were able to take the pulse of the situation on site.

The object is made of gilded bronze, decorated with colored enamel elements. On each side of a blue globe topped with a glory (large golden disc in the shape of a sun) appear Alpha and Omega in the Aramaic alphabet. This flamboyant monstrance was consecrated by Mgr Najeeb Michaeel, Bishop of Mosul, on April 7, 2024 in Mala Barwan (Iraqi Kurdistan). The ceremony gave rise to a celebration bringing together Christians in the region. “It was a great joy to celebrate this event with them,” François Reusse confides to cath.ch. There was incredible fervor and I felt a lot of gratitude.”

Liturgical objects to revive hope

The Geneva goldsmith absolutely wanted to travel to northern Iraq to bring the object that he specially created for the Christian community. A gesture which is not a first since the octogenarian had already made the trip in February 2022 to offer a tabernacle to the local Church. It was by seeing on television the terrible situation of Christians in northern Iraq, under the yoke of the Islamic State group between 2014 and 2018, that he wanted to make his contribution to their renewal by making liturgical objects for them. While François Reusse took more than two years to make his tabernacle, the monstrance required nearly 18 months of work.

During his stay in Iraq, from April 5 to 8, the Genevan was accompanied by his brother Maurice and Naseem Asmaroo. The bi-ritual priest (Chaldean-Latin) residing in Broye Vaudoise regularly returns to northern Iraq, where he comes from. His wife, Lusia Shammas, founded the association Basmat al Qarib (the smile of the neighbor), which creates bridges between Switzerland and Iraq.

The reconstruction dilemma

In addition to the presentation and consecration of the monstrance, the three men visited several places in the north of the country. They notably attended the inauguration of the school and the church of Notre-Dame-du-Perpétuel-Secours, in the Dawassa district of Mosul. This very well-known and renowned institution before the war was restored with the help of the French organization SOS Chrétiens d’Orient.

“The reopening of this church and school, in this popular district of Mosul, is a great event,” notes Naseem Asmaroo. Everyone hopes this will encourage Christian families to stay or return. But the community still faces the same dilemma: should we wait for people to return to develop the structures or should we develop the structures to invite people to come back? At the risk of carrying out work ‘in a vacuum’….The question is not resolved.”

Cardinal Sako’s “exile” almost over?

The group from Switzerland was also able to meet Cardinal Louis Raphaël Sako, patriarch of the Chaldean Church. “He was very available and enthusiastic about our approach regarding liturgical objects,” assures François Reusse.” While the headquarters of his Church is in Baghdad, the Chaldean leader currently resides in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.

A trip following disagreements with the current Iraqi government, marked by the revocation, in July 2023, of the Iraqi presidential decree recognizing Cardinal Sako as patriarch of the Chaldeans. A situation that the parties are however currently trying to resolve, specifies Naseem Asmaroo. He confirms that the prelate recently met the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohamed Shiaa Al-Sudani. It is therefore not excluded that the decree could be restored.

Naseem, Francis and Maurice also visited the Chaldean orphanage of Alqosh, in the Nineveh Plain, attached to a monastery of Antonine monks, as well as the Manuscript Center in Ankawa. The building houses numerous invaluable documents, saved at the last minute from Daesh by Michaeel Najeeb, as the jihadists were advancing towards Qaraqosh in 2014.

A monstrance and a tabernacle for the cathedral

The visitors from Switzerland eventually traveled to the mountainous region north of Erbil, where there are villages with a mixed population of Christians, Muslims and Yazidis. It was in one of these, at Mala Barwan, that the consecration of the monstrance took place, during a mass, followed by a procession and a celebration.

The liturgical object will initially have an itinerant career. It will move from one Christian parish in northern Iraq to another, before finding a definitive place in the new cathedral of Mosul. Devastated during the occupation of the city by the Islamic State, the reconstructed building will be inaugurated in October 2025. The tabernacle of François Reusse, for the moment kept in the St-Paul church in Mosul, will also join this then the new seat of the diocese.

“The work of François Reusse is a strong symbol for the Christians there,” emphasizes Naseem Asmaroo. Firstly because it is very important for them to know that they are not forgotten.” (cath.ch/arch/rz)