Iraqi Christians celebrated the reopening of a restored Chaldean Catholic Church in Mosul, which had been turned into a religious police office by extremists.
Around 300 people attended the first mass in the 80-year-old "Our Lady of Perpetual Help" church.
Ilham Abdullah, a 74-year-old former school director, expressed hope that Christian families would return and life would return to its culturally diverse state in Mosul, Iraq's second city and historical hub of mosques, churches, shrines, and tombs.
In 2014, Daesh (ISIS) took control of Mosul in Iraq and declared their caliphate, forcing tens of thousands of Christians in the Nineveh province to flee.
The extremist group prohibited entry to Um Al-Mauna, a Christian site, and imposed harsh rules through their religious police, the Hesba Division.
A 75-year-old retired banker named Abdel Masih Selim, who had fled Mosul, expressed his joy at attending a mass in Irbil, the capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, to see the restored Chaldean church they were forced to abandon during Daesh's rule.
In 2017, the Iraqi army, backed by the US, drove Daesh (ISIS) out of the area, leaving the Chaldean church in Mosul covered in Daesh propaganda.
During Daesh's rule, all Christian symbols were removed, and the church's walls were defaced with extremist graffiti.
However, the church has since been restored to its former design, and photos show its state before and after the renovation.
Other churches and monasteries in Mosul are also being renovated, but the reconstruction process is slow, and many Christians have not yet returned.
In 2021,
Pope Francis made a historic visit to Mosul to encourage the Christian community and promote interfaith dialogue.
The Chaldean Christian community in Iraq, which numbered over a million before the 2003 war, has decreased to approximately 400,000 due to recurring violence.
Despite the challenges, Chaldean Catholic Church Patriarch Raphael Sako expressed optimism about the future of Christians in Iraq, stating, "This is our country and our land.
We are here to stay."