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French Catholics Remind Iraq's Christians That The World Hasn't Forgotten Their Pain

French Catholics Remind Iraq's Christians That The World Hasn't Forgotten Their Pain
Carol Kuruvilla
By 

Religion Reporter, HuffPost

ERBIL, IRAQ - DECEMBER 07: A woman prays at the Jesus Tent that has been erected in the grounds of Mar Elias Catholic Church, in Ankawa which has become home to hundreds of Iraqi Christians who were forced to flee their homes as the Islamic State advanced earlier this year, on December 7, 2014 in Erbil, Iraq. Although the autonomous Kurdistan region of Northern Iraq was already a refuge for an estimated 250,000 Syrian refugees, since the Islamic State began its onslaught on Iraq in June, Kurdistan has also taken in a more than one and a half million displaced people. Many have been placed in purpose-built refugee camps but the huge numbers mean thousands of others are forced to live in un-finished buildings or inadequate, makeshift shelters and as winter in the region closes in, there are growing concerns for the welfare of the refugees who, while their homes are still in ISIL controlled territory, have no realistic prospect of returning to them. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)
ERBIL, IRAQ - DECEMBER 07: A woman prays at the Jesus Tent that has been erected in the grounds of Mar Elias Catholic Church, in Ankawa which has become home to hundreds of Iraqi Christians who were forced to flee their homes as the Islamic State advanced earlier this year, on December 7, 2014 in Erbil, Iraq. Although the autonomous Kurdistan region of Northern Iraq was already a refuge for an estimated 250,000 Syrian refugees, since the Islamic State began its onslaught on Iraq in June, Kurdistan has also taken in a more than one and a half million displaced people. Many have been placed in purpose-built refugee camps but the huge numbers mean thousands of others are forced to live in un-finished buildings or inadequate, makeshift shelters and as winter in the region closes in, there are growing concerns for the welfare of the refugees who, while their homes are still in ISIL controlled territory, have no realistic prospect of returning to them. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

ERBIL, IRAQ — Each December 8 in Lyon, France, up to three million people flood the streets as houses display candles in the windows to mark the feast of the Immaculate Conception. It’s one of the largest annual festivals in the world, alongside Rio de Janeiro’s Carnival and Munich’s Oktoberfest, and a deeply cherished French tradition.

This year, Lyon’s famed Festival of Lights traveled to Erbil, Iraq, to offer what organizers called “a strong sign of friendship and fraternity” to a Christian minority reeling from threats posed by the rise of the radical Islamic State.

On Friday, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, archbishop of Lyon, took off in a chartered plane with other Catholics from Lyon, bound for Erbil. Among other things, the delegation is visiting the Ankawa refugee camp, home to more than 3,000 Iraqis, most of them Christians and many living in desperate conditions, who have fled the advance of ISIS forces.

A procession and mini-version of the festival of light was staged Saturday, ahead of the celebration of an early Mass of the Immaculate Conception on Sunday.

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