SW News: For the first time after the period of the Islamic State occupation in Iraq’s Mosul, bells chimed with joy last week from the Church of Our Lady of the Hour, which is also known as the Latin Church. On Wednesday, March 1, three new bells which had arrived from Normandy in France earlier were blessed and installed in the belfry.

The three bells were christened Gabriel, Raphael and Michael in honor of the three archangels.

Members of the Dominican congregation and hundreds of believers from various rites and other Churches attended the blessing and installation of the bells. When they rang, emotions ran high as it was for the first time after the Islamist hordes ravaged the area including the Church of Our Lady of the Hour, which was turned into a detention facility. The militants took down the bells and melted them down.

UNESCO and the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) were instrumental in providing the new set of bells that were cast in Normandy’s Cornille Havard Foundry. Our Lady of Hour Church dates back to the 19th century. It was built in 1873 and the clock of the church was donated by French believers in 1882. UNESCO has partnered with 15 global partners, especially the UAE and the EU to mobilize 105 million US dollars to finance the reconstruction of Mosul by focusing on heritage, culture and education. The project was launched in 2018.
According to Dr Khaled al-Obaidi, who heads the Security and Defense Committee of the government, a field tour of the devastated churches has been conducted in the old part of Mosul and the rebuilding efforts are being closely monitored. He also expressed gratitude for those who are engaged in the reconstruction efforts and also invited stakeholders to support the revamping efforts.