Syria has been torn apart by a civil war over the last decade. All of the Syrian people have suffered greatly, while Christians have been specifically targeted during the civil war. One example of this targeting was the destruction of Aleppo’s Maronite Catholic Cathedral. With the help of Aid to the Church in Need the cathedral has been rebuilt.

By ACN Staff

Maronite Cathedral of St. Elijah in Aleppo. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)

St. Elijah’s Maronite Catholic Cathedral in Aleppo was one of the many victims of the Syrian Civil War, which continues to this day. The cathedral is in one sense just another building destroyed in the horrors visited on Syria, but it is also a visible reminder of the specific targeting of Christian for their faith. At the beginning of the war in Aleppo, the church was hit by shelling in 2012-2013. The Maronite Archbishop of Aleppo, Monsignor Joseph Tobji, recalls rushing to the cathedral to inspect the damage after each strike. He would then tell the priests of his diocese what had happened. Over time the strikes became too intensive for the archbishop to travel to the cathedral to see what damage had been done.

Maronite Archbishop Joseph Tobji of Aleppo. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)

The situation became markedly worse over the course of 2013-2016 as fighting worsened in the city. By the time the fighting was over the cathedral was in ruins. Despite this, the archbishop made the decision that the cathedral’s doors would be open for Holy Mass on Christmas Day. The archbishop explains:

“We decided to send a message of hope that the Son of God was incarnate and He is still with us, accompanying us in our sorrows and pains, and carrying them with us, so that they transform into a life of hope, faith, love and thus a life of holiness. The moment during the Mass when the child Jesus was placed in the manger made of the ruins of the collapsed roof was very touching, as I, with the people attending the service, were crying and laughing at the same time, and everyone was clapping and cheering with joy.”

The destruction done to Aleppo’s Maronite Cathedral is just one of many examples of the hardship faced by Syria’s Christians. Before the war began, Syria had 1.5 million Christians. It is now estimated that less than one third of them remain in the country. Aleppo was particularly hard hit. Before the war there were 180,000 Christians in the city. Now there are less than 30,000. Monsignor Joseph Tobji was determined that the Maronite Catholic Church would remain in Aleppo and that the Christian presence in the Middle East would not die, so as to continue the mission of the Church as mandated by Christ to spread the Gospels to all nations. One of the first steps needed to keep the Maronite Catholic presence in Aleppo was the rebuild the cathedral.

Rebuilding or repairing a cathedral is easier said than done. The expense was one huge factor. The Maronites, as Catholic, are fully part of the Universal Church received support from fellow Catholics from around the world. For example, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) contributed €400,000, the majority of the funding for the reconstruction project. Between 2011-2019, ACN provided €38 million worth of aid to Syria. This support was made possible by the donations from ACN’s many generous benefactors in countries like Ireland.

Reopening of Maronite Cathedral of St. Elijah in Aleppo. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)

All this hard work paid off. On 20th July 2020, St. Elijah’s Maronite Cathedral was officially reopened. The entire cathedral had been completely restored. None of this would have been possible without ACN’s benefactors. Monsignor Joseph Tobji passed on this message to ACN and our benefactors:

“On behalf of all the parishioners and myself, we wholeheartedly thank Aid to the Church in Need, and all the donors who have contributed with faith and generosity to this dream. Without the help of ACN and the generosity of the benefactors, we would not have been able to pray again and spread hope in the hearts of the faithful through the reconstruction of the cathedral. Please rest assured that we pray daily for you and ask God to shower his blessings on you and your families.”

ACN is carrying out more church reconstruction projects around the world. For example, ACN has pledged to help rebuild the Syriac Catholic Al-Tahira Church in Mosul, Iraq. To learn more about this please consider visit our Lent campaign page.

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Rebuilding Aleppo’s Cathedral