Thousands celebrate the beginning of Holy Week on April 13, 2025, with a Palm Sunday procession in Qaraqosh, Iraq. / Credit: Ismael Adnan/ACI MENA
ACI MENA, Apr 14, 2025 / 17:12 pm (CNA).
The streets of Qaraqosh, Iraq — also known as Baghdeda — were filled with joy as residents celebrating Palm Sunday carried olive branches and palm fronds in a grand procession of nearly 20,000 Christians.
The streets of Qaraqosh, Iraq — also known as Baghdeda — were filled with joy as residents celebrating Palm Sunday 2025 carried olive branches and palm fronds in a grand procession of nearly 20,000 Christians. Credit: Ismael Adnan/ACI MENA
Following the traditional “Teshmeshto” prayer service, the procession set off from the Grand Immaculate Conception Cathedral, led by Bishop Benedictos Younan Hanno, the Syriac Catholic archbishop of Mosul and its dependencies. He was accompanied by local clergy and parish priests, followed by groups of monks, nuns, deacons, catechism students, choir members, church associations, and throngs of faithful.
As they walked through the streets of Qaraqosh, participants sang Palm Sunday hymns in both Arabic and Syriac, waving olive branches and many wearing traditional attire from Qaraqosh and other Christian towns and villages in Iraq.
Over 20,000 Christians gather on the streets of Qaraqosh in Iraq to celebrate Palm Sunday, April 13, 2025. Credit: Ismael Adnan/ACI MENA
‘The City of Hosanna’
Speaking to ACI MENA, Father Rony Salim, chancellor of the Syriac Catholic Archdiocese of Mosul, shared that the bishop has called Qaraqosh the “City of Hosanna” due to its uniquely spirited celebration marked by hymns, prayers, and massive crowds of worshippers.
Salim noted that nearly 20,000 people took part in this year’s procession, including local residents, members of the Qaraqosh diaspora returning home for the celebration, and visitors from other Christian towns and villages across Iraq, drawn by the distinctive Palm Sunday traditions of Qaraqosh.
The streets of Qaraqosh — also known as Baghdeda — are filled with joy as residents celebrate Palm Sunday on April 13, 2025, carrying olive branches and palm fronds in a grand procession of nearly 20,000 Christians. Credit: Ismael Adnan/ACI MENA
“Many Qaraqosh natives living abroad take advantage of the Easter holidays to return home and partake in these celebrations filled with joy, love, and the rich heritage of their ancestors,” he added.
The palm branches carried in the procession — historically used to welcome kings and symbolizing victory and strength — were highlighted by Salim: “We too are strong in our king, Jesus, who triumphed over death. Today we welcome him with palm branches as king, and with olive branches as prince of peace.”
Many children take part in the Palm Sunday procession on April 13, 2025, on the streets of Qaraqosh in Iraq where thousands gathered to mark the beginning of Holy Week. Credit: Ismael Adnan/ACI MENA
Local volunteers in Qaraqosh helped prepare for the event by gathering branches, decorating the streets along the procession route, and placing symbols of Palm Sunday throughout the town.
As they walked through the streets of Qaraqosh, Iraq, on April 13, 2025, participants sang Palm Sunday hymns in both Arabic and Syriac, waving olive branches and many wearing traditional attire from Qaraqosh and other Christian towns and villages in Iraq. Credit: Ismael Adnan/ACI MENA
Widespread celebrations across Iraq
Qaraqosh wasn’t alone in its celebrations.
In Erbil’s Ankawa district, the Chaldean archdiocese organized a large Palm Sunday procession for catechism students. A similar procession took place in Alqosh, also organized by the Chaldean Church. In Bartella, the Syriac Catholic and Syriac Orthodox churches held a joint celebration. In every town, the faithful followed the processions carrying olive branches and chanting Palm Sunday hymns.
Father Rony Salim, chancellor of the Syriac Catholic Archdiocese of Mosul, shared with ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, that the bishop has called Qaraqosh the “City of Hosanna” due to its uniquely spirited celebration marked by hymns, prayers, and massive crowds of worshippers. Credit: Ismael Adnan/ACI MENA
Qaraqosh’s annual Palm Sunday procession has become one of Iraq’s most iconic Christian celebrations, interrupted only during the years of forced displacement following the ISIS invasion in 2014. Over the years, successive Syriac Catholic patriarchs have participated in the celebration, calling it one of the most beautiful expressions of the Lord’s entrance into Jerusalem.
Close to 20,000 Christian gather in Qaraqosh, Iraq, on April 13, 2025, to celebrate Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week. Credit: Ismael Adnan/ACI MENA
This story was first published by ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, and has been translated and adapted by CNA.
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Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, OFM Cap, president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), speaks at a press briefing for the Synod on Synodality at the Vatican on Oct. 24, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA… […]
The Catholic faithful gathered in the Cenacle in Jerusalem for the Mass of the Lord’s Supper that the Franciscan friars celebrated on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. The Cenacle is at the center of strong tensions and disputes regarding ownership and rights of access and celebration. An ancient tradition places King David’s tomb here and over the centuries Jews and Muslims have leveraged this to first expel the Franciscans and then to prevent Christian worship, which they deemed sacrilegious. / Credit: Marinella Bandini
Jerusalem, Mar 28, 2024 / 17:15 pm (CNA).
On Holy Thursday, the doors of the Cenacle in Jerusalem were opened to welcome the Franciscans of the Custody of the Holy Land. In this “Upper Room,” called the Cenacle in the Holy Land, Jesus had his Last Supper, washed his apostles’ feet, and instituted the Eucharist.
It was here that the Franciscans celebrated the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, reenacting those same gestures. (At the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, however, the celebration is held on Thursday morning due to the Status Quo. Here is Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa’s homily from that Mass.)
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, kisses the feet of a Franciscan friar during the “Washing of the Feet” ritual at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper celebrated at the Holy Sepulchre on Holy Thursday. The celebration is held on Thursday morning due to the Status Quo. March 28, 2024. Courtesy of the Custody of the Holy Land
The custos of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Patton, presided over the Eucharistic celebration at the Cenacle. In his homily, before washing the feet of six teachers and six students from the Terra Sancta School in Jerusalem, he emphasized the value of the “new commandment” that Jesus gave to his apostles here: “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another” (Jn 13:34).
“To love means to give oneself and to serve,” he said. “In this celebration, we want to nourish ourselves with Jesus because if he is alive within us, then we too will become capable of loving one another as he loved us. And we also want to learn from Jesus not to be served but to serve.”
Some students from the Terra Sancta School in Jerusalem who took part in the “Washing of the Feet” ritual during the Mass of the Lord’s Supper celebrated at the Cenacle in Jerusalem on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. Addressing them specifically in his homily, the Custos of the Holy Land emphasized the value of the “new commandment” that Jesus gave to his apostles here: “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another” (John 13:34). Credit: Marinella Bandini
Holy Thursday is the only day, along with Pentecost Sunday, when the Franciscans have the right to gather in the Upper Room to pray. Usually, it is a liturgy of the word, but since 2021 they have celebrated Mass. Outside, Israeli Army personnel ensure security.
The Cenacle is at the center of strong tensions and disputes regarding ownership and rights of access and celebration. An ancient tradition places King David’s tomb here, and over the centuries, Jews and Muslims have leveraged this place to first expel the Franciscans and then to prevent Christian worship, which they deem sacrilegious.
Father Narciso Klimas, historian and archivist of the Custody of the Holy Land, explained to CNA: “The Custody has all the documents confirming our ownership of Mount Zion.” Even today, traces of Christian presence are visible, both in the architecture of the place and in some symbols.
“The presence of the Franciscans at the Cenacle,” Klimas explained, “dates back to 1342, but as early as 1333, the rulers of Naples, Robert of Anjou and Sancha of Majorca, acquired the land and donated it to the friars. This was the first headquarters of the Custody of the Holy Land.” To this day, the official title of the Custos of the Holy Land is “Guardian of Mount Zion and the Holy Sepulchre.”
Father Francesco Patton, custos of the Holy Land, incenses the altar at the beginning of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper that the Franciscan friars celebrated inside the Cenacle in Jerusalem on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. This is the only day, along with Pentecost Sunday, that the Franciscans have the right to gather here to pray. Usually, it is a liturgy of the word, but since 2021 they have celebrated Mass. Credit: Marinella Bandini
In 1421, a rabbi submitted a petition to the local emirs, claiming the right for Muslims and Jews to this place due to the presence of King David’s tomb. One hundred years later, Klimas continued, “the Ottomans used this argument to gradually expel the Franciscans, until in 1551 the sultan decreed the total expulsion of the Franciscans from Mount Zion.” The Cenacle first became a mosque and later, in the lower part, also a synagogue.
“Since then,” Klimas recounted, “the Franciscans have never stopped attempting to regain possession of the Cenacle. The friars have always tried to ensure a presence, at least on Holy Thursday and Pentecost, sometimes even with methods that are not exactly orthodox (such as bribing the local guardian).”
Something began to change in the 19th century, during the time of the Ottoman Sultan Abdülmecid. Since then, the Franciscans have had the right to pray at the Cenacle on Holy Thursday and Pentecost. After a failed attempt in the 1930s to regain control of it, the friars managed to purchase adjacent land where they built the convent of San Francesco “ad Coenaculum” (next to the Cenacle).
In 1948, with the founding of the State of Israel, the entire Mount Zion came under Israeli control, and until today, the Israeli state owns the entire complex of the Cenacle. The neighborhood has a strong Jewish religious character and is characterized by the presence of synagogues and rabbinical schools.
The Franciscan friars and the faithful in the Armenian Cathedral of St. James in Jerusalem after the Mass of the Lord’s Supper celebrated at the Cenacle. Here, the friars commemorate the hospitality they received here in the 16th century. After being expelled from the Cenacle, the Franciscans were welcomed by the Armenians for seven years while the convent of St. Saviour was purchased, to this day the headquarters of the Custody of the Holy Land. March 28, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini
“Even if the Cenacle cannot return to our hands,” Klimas explained, “we ask at least to celebrate regularly, even with pilgrims, without the need for special permits.”
Negotiations on these matters (taxation and property) have been ongoing for over 25 years between the Holy See and the State of Israel, following the signing of the Fundamental Agreement in 1993 and the agreement recognizing the legal personality of the Catholic Church in Israel in 1997.
Despite the slow pace of diplomatic negotiations, some practical progress can be observed informally. The ability to celebrate Mass on Holy Thursday at the Cenacle is among these developments. Permissions to access the site on other special occasions are usually granted without significant issues as well.
After the Mass at the Cenacle, as tradition dictates, the Franciscans proceeded in a procession to three churches in two other symbolic places: the Armenian churches of St. James and of the Holy Archangels (of the Armenian Apostolic Church), and the Syro-Orthodox Church of St. Mark.
The Franciscan friars and the faithful in the Armenian Church of the Holy Archangels in Jerusalem after the Mass of the Lord’s Supper celebrated at the Cenacle on March 28, 2024. Friars and faithful pray together and receive the blessing from the representative of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Credit: Marinella Bandini
This yearly visit commemorates the hospitality the friars received in the 16th century. After being expelled from the Cenacle, the Franciscans were welcomed by the Armenians for seven years while the convent of St. Saviour was purchased, to this day the headquarters of the Custody of the Holy Land. Friars and faithful prayed together and received the blessing from the representative of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
The Syriac Orthodox Church of St. Mark is said to be built on the house of Mary, the mother of the evangelist Mark. According to Syriac tradition, this is the place where Jesus had the Last Supper. Here as well, those present prayed together and were able to listen to the Lord’s Prayer sung in Aramaic by one of the monks, who then gave a blessing.
The Franciscan friars and the faithful in the Syro-Orthodox church of St. Mark in Jerusalem after the Mass of the Lord’s Supper celebrated at the Cenacle on March 28, 2024. According to Syriac tradition, this is the upper room where Jesus had the Last Supper. Here as well, those present pray together and listen to the Lord’s Prayer sung in Aramaic by one of the monks, who then gives the blessing. Credit: Marinella Bandini
Annaya, Lebanon, Jan 10, 2019 / 03:16 am (CNA).- St. Charbel Makhlouf is known in Lebanon for the miraculous healings of those who visit his tomb to seek his intercession – both Christians and Muslims.
Hosanna to the King of kings and to the Lord of lords.