Why pilgrims come
A sacred place worth the journey.
The iconic Syriac Catholic complex of Qaraqosh, joining an older church with the vast twentieth-century Al-Tahira. Desecrated and burned during ISIS occupation, it again became a community and liturgical center; Pope Francis prayed the Angelus here with Qaraqosh’s returned Christians in 2021.
The pilgrim’s guide
What makes this visit meaningful
Let Qaraqosh be a story of a people returning—not simply a church damaged by ISIS. The old and new Al-Tahira buildings hold Marian devotion, Syriac language, community labor, desecration, and recovery together.
Two Al-Tahira churches
Read the older sanctuary and the immense modern church as one evolving sacred enclosure.
Desecration and return
Center the returned worshipping community rather than the damage left by ISIS.
The 2021 Angelus
Recall the Marian prayer Pope Francis shared with Qaraqosh’s Christians.
Continue nearby