During this jubilee year marking the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, several parishes organized pilgrimages to sacred Christian sites under the banner of Pilgrims of Hope. In this context, a large delegation from the parish of Alqosh, led by Father Rudi Saffar, and another group from the Diocese of Zakho, headed by Father Gabriel Korkis Touma, visited Lebanon in September—the month of the Holy Cross.
Both delegations visited the Chaldean Diocese of Beirut and the Cathedral of St. Raphael the Archangel in Baabda–Brazilia, where Monsignor Raphael Traboulsi, the Vicar General, gave an overview of the diocese’s 150-year history of Chaldean presence in Lebanon. The pilgrims later met with Bishop Michel Kassarji, Head of the Chaldean Church in Lebanon, in the diocesan reception hall.
The visit concluded with both priests celebrating the Holy Mass at St. Joseph’s Chaldean Parish in Sad El-Bouchrieh, joined by the accompanying pilgrims and local parishioners. All prayed together for peace in Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine, and the suffering world.
العربية