Patriarch Sako: Umm al-Nour Church Reflects PM Barzani’s Care for Kurdistan’s People

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - Hailing the magnificent new Umm al-Nour Cathedral as a "patriarchal edifice" and a symbol of hope, His Beatitude Cardinal Louis Sako, the Patriarch of the Chaldeans in Iraq and the World, on Sunday lauded the project as the direct "fruit" of Prime Minister Masrour Barzani's sincere love and concern for all the people of Kurdistan.

Speaking at the historic consecration ceremony in Ankawa, Patriarch Sako expressed his "great pride" in the achievement, declaring that the new church is a universal symbol of faith and unity, a spiritual home "for all Christians and Kurds alike, just as God is for everyone."

His powerful words of gratitude and appreciation were a central feature of a day that powerfully celebrated the Kurdistan Region's deep-rooted culture of religious coexistence and its role as a safe haven for persecuted communities.

The inauguration of the Umm al-Nour (Mother of Light) Cathedral on Sunday, October 12, 2025, was a landmark event, attended by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and a host of senior religious and political dignitaries, including His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem and Mar Nicodemus Daoud Matti Sharaf, the Metropolitan of the new cathedral.

The stunning new church, built on an area of six thousand square meters at a cost of 4.29 billion Iraqi dinars and with a capacity for one thousand worshippers, was constructed entirely by the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs.

In his address at the ceremony, Patriarch Sako praised the KRG's gesture as a "high example of care and appreciation" and thanked the "supreme Syriac leadership for this stance." He directly linked the successful completion of the grand project to the personal commitment of the Prime Minister.

"The Prime Minister is known for his sincere love for his people," Patriarch Sako stated, "and this church is the fruit of this concern and clear evidence of the great support provided."

This sentiment was echoed by Khalid Albert, the Director-General of Christian Affairs in the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs. In a special interview with Kurdistan24, Albert described the project as a powerful embodiment of the "political leadership's concern for the rights of the religious components." He framed the new church as a "clear message that Kurdistan will remain a safe haven for all its children."

The construction of the new, larger cathedral was also a matter of profound practical necessity for the growing Christian community in Ankawa, a town with a majority Chaldean and Assyrian population that has become the vibrant heart of Christian life in the Kurdistan Region.

As Albert explained, the old church was simply "no longer able to accommodate the increasing numbers of worshipers." This overcrowding had forced many to perform their prayers outside the church, even in the cold and rain, a situation that was particularly acute during major religious holidays like Christmas and New Year's.

The new, thousand-person capacity cathedral now provides a dignified and beautiful space for the entire community to gather in worship.

Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, in his own address at the inauguration, described the new church as a "gift from the Kurdistan Regional Government" to the thousands of Christians who sought refuge in the region after being uprooted by the brutality of ISIS.

He spoke of the dark days following the terrorist group's genocidal campaign across Mosul and the Nineveh Plains, when "thousands of Christian sisters and brothers from those areas were forced to leave their homes and seek refuge in the Kurdistan Region, particularly settling in Ankawa to live in peace and tranquility."

He confirmed that many of these displaced families have chosen to remain in the safety of the Kurdistan Region and will now use this new church for their worship.

The Prime Minister also made a solemn pledge that the KRG would continue to work for the rights of Christians in their ancestral homelands. "The Kurdistan Regional Government will continue its efforts to end this imposed situation in the Nineveh Plains and to create a peaceful and stable atmosphere so that our sisters and brothers can return to their homes and churches with dignity and of their own will," he affirmed.

This message of unwavering support and solidarity from the KRG's leadership was met with profound and heartfelt gratitude from the church's leaders. Mar Nicodemus Daoud Matti Sharaf, the Metropolitan of the new cathedral, delivered an emotional address in which he described the new building as a "symbol of resurrection on this sacred land of Ankawa," an embodiment of the "accumulated tears, the unhealed wounds, and the pains" of a community that had been brutalized but not broken.

He recounted the powerful and unforgettable words of President Masoud Barzani, who at the height of the ISIS crisis had told the displaced Christians, "You are in your own homes and land. Your situation is our situation; we live together and we die together." This foundational promise, the Metropolitan stated, has been consistently fulfilled by the "blessed government of the Kurdistan Region," a commitment now powerfully symbolized by the magnificent new cathedral.

Prime Minister Barzani, in his speech, placed the inauguration of the Umm al-Nour Cathedral within a broader and very active government agenda of supporting and celebrating the Kurdistan Region's religious diversity.

He pointed to a series of recent and upcoming events that, taken together, paint a vivid picture of this commitment in action. "A few days ago, we inaugurated a road project near the Lalish Temple, which was a great facilitation for our Yazidi sisters and brothers," he noted.

He then announced that immediately after the church opening, "we will lay the foundation stone for the Al-Azhar Religious Institute, and we will also participate in the graduation ceremony of the Institute of Imams and Preachers in Erbil."

"All of this," the Prime Minister declared, "is evidence and a sign of the diversity of Kurdistan's society and the importance the Kurdistan Regional Government places on all religions and on the further deepening of peaceful coexistence and religious freedom in the Kurdistan Region."

He concluded with a forward-looking vision, stating that the KRG "will continue to promote the message of peace, coexistence, and respect for all religions, not only in the Kurdistan Region but throughout the Middle East." The new cathedral, born of tragedy but built with a spirit of hope and a profound commitment to coexistence, now stands as a powerful and enduring symbol of that very vision.