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| The chapel of the Irish College, Rome. |
Several years ago I had the privilege of being able to study
in Rome for 3 years. While I was there I lived in the Irish College,
which is both a seminary and post-graduate college. As there are not
enough Irish students to fill the college, it is now quite an
international college. For one of my years there we had students from
23 different countries. This makes for a great cultural experience
and it gave me a great sense of the universal Church. I was
there studying and living with other young men from all parts of the
world. We came from many very different cultures, but we all
shared the same faith and the same enthusiasm to make it known to
other people. It was very inspiring to live in such an environment,
although of course it also had its moments as we had very different
ways of doing things.
One man who was my next door neighbour
for a year and a half, was Ragheed Ganni from Iraq. I didn’t even
know there were Catholics in Iraq until I met him. He was a young,
highly talented and very likable priest. He was from the city of
Mosul in northern Iraq, which is the ancient city of Nineveh
(Remember the prophet Jonah was sent to the people of Nineveh). Ragheed completed all his studies for priesthood in Rome, since if he
returned to Iraq during his studies, he may not have been able to
leave again to complete them. So he studied in Rome, living in the
Irish College and spent many summers in Ireland.
During our time there, the American
invasion of Iraq took place and the over-throwing of Sadam Hussein.
This was a very difficult and stressful time for Ragheed, as he
watched his country being thrown into turmoil, while daily
wondering if his family were safe or not. Having someone in the room
next to me who was going through this, made the war very real. Just
before the war started I asked him as an Iraqi what were his fears
about what would happen. He said that the problem was not so much
when the Americans took over, as when they later pulled out. He said
that then there would be civil war and the Christians would be wiped
out as the Muslim factions would not have any tolerance for them.
That is exactly what happened.
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| Fr. Ragheed Aziz Ganni (1972-2007) |
In 2003 Ragheed returned to Iraq. It
was now a very different country to the one he had left. To get into
the country he told me that he had to fly into Syria and then take a
bus across the border. I received a few emails from him after he
returned. He said that there was a curfew almost every night and that
it was becoming more and more difficult for the Christian community
there. One day he sent me an email with photos of his church on
fire. He said that gunmen had come in and taken him out at
gunpoint. He thought he was going to be shot, but instead they
blew up the church. Ragheed was able to return to Rome at least twice
over the next three years, and I met him on one of those visits. He
had put on some weight, and he said that this was because he could
not go outside to exercise, as it was too dangerous. As time passed
more and more of his parishioners began to leave and those of us who
knew him worried for his safety. Whoever could afford to leave the
parish got out. Ragheed knew that staying on in Iraq was becoming
increasingly dangerous, but he believed that that was where God was
asking him to be. He wanted to remain with his people so that they
could have the mass. In spite of death threats and the obvious
danger, he continued to minister to his people and they continued to
come to pray and celebrate mass. One of the neighboring churches was
hit by a car bomb killing two people and injuring many. The bishop’s
house was blown up and Ragheed’s sister was injured by a grenade
which was thrown at her while she was going to clean the church in
preparation for Sunday mass. In spite of this Ragheed and the
other priests continued to minister to their people.
On 3nd
June, 2007 I received a phone call from a friend to tell me the
terrible news that Ragheed along with three others, had been shot
dead the day before. He had just finished celebrating the Mass and
was leaving the church with another sub-deacon. Two other sub-deacons
and the wife of one of them were in the car behind. One year later
the woman and only survivor, Bayan Adam Bella, had the courage to
speak out. Here are some excerpts from an interview she gave to
Ankawa.com.
‘At
a certain point the car was stopped by armed men. Fr. Ragheed could
have fled but he did not want to, because he knew they were looking
for him. They forced us to get out of the car and led me away.
Then one of
the killers screamed at Ragheed,
“I
told you to close the church. Why didn’t you do it? Why are you
still here?” And he simply responded,
“How
can I close the house of God?”
They
immediately pushed him to the ground, and Ragheed had only enough
time to gesture to me with his head that I should run away. Then they
opened fire and killed all four of them.’ At this point Bayan
fainted.
Ragheed Ganni was only 35 when he was
shot dead and had been a priest for just 6 years.
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| Icon of Fr. Ragheed on the right, holding the martyr's palm |
In the second reading from this
Sunday’s mass (Apocalypse 7:9, 14-17) we hear of the great numbers
of people who stand before the Lamb holding palms in their hands.
When the writer asks who they are he is told,
‘These
are the people who have been through the great persecution and
because they have washed their robes white again in the blood of the
Lamb, they now stand in front of God’s throne and serve him day and
night in his sanctuary; and the One who sits on the throne will
spread his tent over them.’
A few years after Ragheed’s death the
chapel in the Irish College in Rome was redecorated by the artist Fr.
Marko Rupnik (see the photo above). Behind the altar there is a breath-taking mosaic with Christ
the Good Shepherd at the centre with several saints on either side
including Fr. Ragheed Ganni to the far right holding the martyr’s
palm. I always find it very moving to see this image having known
Ragheed myself.
In different parts of the world many
people continue to put their lives at risk in order to pass on the
teachings of Christ as he asked us to. Many, including Ragheed, have
paid with their lives. Although it is sad for me to think of
Ragheed’s death, it is also a great source of strength and
inspiration. Jesus told us we would be persecuted for following him,
but he also told us that he is our shepherd who continues to guide
and look after us. That doesn’t mean that we won’t suffer, but it
does mean that he is always with us. Even though none of us want to
have to suffer for our faith, what could be more important than to be
faithful to Jesus? He is the one who makes sense of why we are here. Without Christ we are nothing.
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