Chalice used for target practice by Islamic militants displayed to raise awareness of persecuted Christians

From CNA:

Chalice shot by ISIS militants to be displayed in Spanish churches

.- As part of an effort to remember and pray for persecuted Christians, several churches in the Diocese of Málaga, Spain are displaying a chalice that was shot by the Islamic State.

The chalice was rescued from a Syrian Catholic church in the town of Qaraqosh on the Nineveh plain in Iraq. It was brought to the Malaga diocese by the papal charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) to be displayed during Masses offered for persecuted Christians.

“This chalice was used by the jihadists for target practice,” explained Ana María Aldea, an ACN delegate in Malaga. “What they did not imagine is that it would be re-consecrated and taken to many parts of the world to hold Mass in its presence.”

“With this, we want to make visible a reality that we sometimes see on television but we are not really aware of what we are seeing.”

The purpose of displaying the chalice during Mass, Aldea said, is “to make visible to the people of Malaga the religious persecution that many Christians suffer today, and that has existed since the early days of the Church.”

According to the diocese, the first Mass with this chalice took place August 23 in San Isidro Labrador and Santa María de la Cabeza parish in the town of Cártama.The chalice will be in the diocese until September 14.

“When you see this chalice with the bullet’s entrance and exit, that’s when you become aware of the persecution that Christians are suffering in these places,” Aldea said.

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3 Comments

  1. JustaSinner says:

    Still have dreams where Syria is again a majority Catholic nation. Maybe then I can get the best olive oil on Earth, from Syria!

  2. Semper Gumby says:

    JustaSinner: That is good olive oil.

    It is unfortunate that Obama and Biden (ISIS is “the JV”) and the Maliki government did not deal seriously with the ISIS threat in 2013. That said, Christians have been emigrating from the Middle East since the 19th century for various reasons such as the Ottomans, the Ba’ath Party in Syria and Iraq, and socialist rule in Palestine (a new survey shows economic opportunity is the main reason Holy Land Christians are emigrating).

    Some recent news about rebuilding in the Nineveh Plains:

    https://syriacpress.com/blog/2020/08/21/bashiqa-municipality-in-nineveh-plains-iraq-continues-projects-to-beautify-city/

  3. Elizabeth D says:

    This chalice is very moving and I hope it will be brought to other countries as well. I would definitely want to attend a Mass in the presence of this chalice.

    I am commenting because there is a story about a chalice recently found in the remains of a 5th century church associated with Hadrian’s Wall–a lead chalice that was found underneath the altar, crushed and in pieces, but has recognizably Christian symbols etched onto it. Even imagery of people at Mass, what might be an altar (is that an asterisk????), and allegedly “a happy bishop”. Doesn’t it seem like something they made themselves out there on the frontier? How many Christian sacred vessels are there from that time anywhere in the world?

    https://www.vindolanda.com/news/unique-christian-artefact-uncovered-at-vindolanda

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