Zaid Al-Obeidi
Christian worshippers gather around a bonfire outside the Syriac Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception (Al-Tahira-l-Kubra), in Iraq's predominantly Christian town of Qaraqosh (Baghdeda), in Nineveh province, some 30 kilometres from Mosul, during the Christmas eve service on December 24, 2021.

COMMENTARY: One beautiful sign of hope is the opening of a new church in Erbil, where the first Masses were to be celebrated at Christmas.