Catholics hold Mass in solidarity with minority Christians in Mideast

Archbishop Leonard Blair, center, celebrates a special Mass Sunday at St. Mary Roman Catholic Church in New Haven dedicated to persecuted Christians in Iraq and Syria. Archbishop Leonard Blair, center, celebrates a special Mass Sunday at St. Mary Roman Catholic Church in New Haven dedicated to persecuted Christians in Iraq and Syria. Photo: Contributed Photo / Knights Of Columbus Photo: Contributed Photo / Knights Of Columbus Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Catholics hold Mass in solidarity with minority Christians in Mideast 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

NEW HAVEN — Students from the Archdiocese of Hartford’s nine Roman Catholic schools, as well as Archbishop Leonard Blair, a Chaldean Catholic bishop from Canada and the Knights of Columbus, joined in solidarity with persecuted Christians in Iraq and Syria at a special Mass on Sunday.

The students have sold olive wood “solidarity crosses” made in the Middle East and supplied by the Knights in order to assist towns destroyed by ISIS and the struggle against the terrorist organization, according to a news release. Congress and the U.S. State Department have declared ISIS’ actions genocide.

“We are very grateful to the Archdiocese of Hartford for its support of those who have been persecuted for their faith in the Middle East, and we have been truly inspired by these high school students who have taken time and energy to learn about this important issue and raise money to help,” said Knights CEO Carl Anderson, in the release. “We hope this program will be the first of many … across the U.S. and Canada.”

The Chaldean Catholic bishop of Canada, Bishop Bawai Soro, a native of Iraq, gave the homily at the Mass, celebrated at St. Mary Church. He also read the gospel in Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus Christ. Soro said Iraqi Christians have survived the last four years only because of the aid of other Christians, the release said.

“The message that I have for the Knights of Columbus is one of admiration, that you are amazing. We thank you,” the bishop said, according to the release. “We are encouraged by your model; please continue. I know many of the good things that have been done have been influencing us and I know that what you see publicly is only 10 percent of the things that the Knights have been doing. We pray that this will continue and God bless you all.”

The Mass was followed by a reception and a question-and-answer session that included Blair, Soro, Stephen Rasche, counsel to the Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese in Erbil, Iraq, and Andrew Walther, vice president for communications and strategic planning for the Knights.

“Our mission is to preserve the word and example of Christ in the Middle East, and this we are committed to do, whatever the cost,” said Rasche in the statement. “In this, we are grateful for the support and solidarity we have received from our brothers and sisters in Connecticut and elsewhere.”

The Knights produced a nearly 300-page report detailing ISIS’ actions against Christians, which helped the State Department make its declaration in 2016.

The Knights of Columbus was founded at St. Mary in 1882 by the Rev. Michael McGivney, a candidate for sainthood, and now has 2 million members, the release said. In 2017, the K of C gave $177.5 million to charity and members gave more than 75 million hours of volunteer time.