The 16th Anniversary of Fr. Ragheed Ganni and his Fellow Sub-Deacons’ Martyrdom Marks the Founding of a New Fellowship for the Archdiocese

“My Hope” is how Fr. Ragheed Ganni ends his prayer which he wrote before his death. He announces in his prayer that the Lord is the reason for his optimism, surrounded with all kinds of difficulties, hardships and moments of fragility. But his continuous smile and peace of heart was from God, and he recogniz’ed that He is the source of all strength. 

June 3rd marks the anniversary of the martyrdom of Fr. Ragheed Ganni and his fellow sub-deacons. This year, on the 16th anniversary of this event, the Archdiocese of Erbil celebrated the Divine Liturgy commemorating these righteous men’s martyrdom; as well as declaring a new fellowship of the Archdiocese named “Fr. Ragheed and his fellow sub-deacons’ friends”.

In his homily, Archbishop Warda emphasized the importance of such a fellowship, highlighting the martyrs of the Church of Iraq and showing that the Church is still alive and is giving witness to Christ’s word; His Grace encouraged the fellowship members to share their mission with the youth of the Archdiocese of Erbil and other dioceses, by the guidance and help of their mentor and spiritual director, Fr. Savio Handula.

Moreover, His grace highlighted in his homily, Fr. Ragheed’s strength, his faith and fortitude, especially as he insisted to serve the people in Mosul, in spite of the dangerous situation and the risks that came with it. 

His mission was of spreading the word of Christ, illuminating the lives of many, particularly through the Sunday Mass; the Eucharist. In his writings and his life, Fr. Ragheed showed deep devotion to the Eucharist and the Divine Liturgy. He experienced the Eucharist as the “Source and Summit of the Christian life” and he sought to share this with the people around him.

His years of service in Mosul, specifically in the Church of Holy Spirit, were fruitful days during which he was able to attract young people to the Church, and encourage a resilient parish life. 

Fr. Ragheed Ganni and his fellow sub-deacons; Wahid Hanna, Ghassan Isam and Basman Yousif, were among those who, with their witness, can say with St Paul: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7) 

The full homily of Archbishop Bashar Warda on this occasion:

“Thy Will Be Done”

“People, despite the simplicity of their thinking, have experienced through the hardships they have faced, that the grace they receive from their meeting with the Risen Christ is indispensable. They have discovered the Resurrection through their circumstances. And through their solidarity with each other in times of difficulty, they practiced the meaning of Church.  And the Church celebrates the Resurrection through the Eucharist. And this is how they experienced the true presence of Christ, and His unity with them, through Him with the people, and through the people with the Universal Church, who continued her role in praying for them and supporting them spiritually for the people with the Church make up the Mystical Body of Christ.”

Fr. Ragheed spoke with these words to the attendants of the Eucharistic Conference in Italy in 2005, addressing that, Christianity in Iraq cannot survive without the Sunday Mass, without the Eucharistic Christ, for this is the source of our strength; through the Eucharist, our Lord gathers His people with infinite charity, unites and encourages them to continue their path. This is what Fr. Ragheed believed and proclaimed continuously to the world before his martyrdom.

Our Lord Jesus Christ chose Fr. Ragheed to be a servant of the Word, sharing with his people the love of Christ for the Church. He lived this service faithfully and spread the fragrance of Christ among us, who knew him closely. He was enthusiastic in his faith, joyful with his priestly vocation, smiling in the midst of hardships, his heart filled with hope, loving toward his Church and the lay faithful, a fighter for the faith in spite of fear, violence and distress, knowing that the evil one is trying to defeat him. Fr. Ragheed was committed to his priestly ministry and duties and was a sincere servant for Christ, from whom he got his strength. He said:

“Due to the continuous attacks, which have touched me both directly and indirectly, I felt how weak I was, and unable to continue my duties. This reached its peak, when I received a letter warning of a terrorist attack on my parish an hour before the Vigil Mass, as the Church was crowded and was recovering from several falls. I felt tremendous weakness at that time.

But when, holding the Eucharist, I say ‘Behold the Lamb of God.  Behold him who takes away the sins of the world’, I feel His strength in me. When I hold the Host in my hands, it is really He who is holding me and all of us, keeping us united in His boundless love. This love which has filled me and filled all who seek His help.”

For his faithfulness, Our Lord seated him at His table, and today we raise Fr. Ragheed’s name with the martyrs every time we celebrate the Divine Liturgy. The Church remembers him as a good servant and a fighter for Christ, and as he himself said “The terrorists might think they can kill our bodies or our spirit by frightening us… but the Eucharist gives it back.”

Fr. Ragheed chose the verse “Thy Will be Done” (Mt 6:10) as the motto for his priestly ministry, and he fully lived it. He did not say, “Thy will be done unless it costs my life and comfort”. Fr. Ragheed was well aware of the dangers of this path and the priestly ministry’s circumstances in Mosul, nevertheless he provided the Eucharistic celebration, the presence of Christ among His people, thus He was present for them forever. During a personal encounter with him, he said: “I am trying to discover new ways to get to and from the church. And if we ever have to close the church, every parishioner’s house will become a church for Christ, and I will not submit to the militants’ threats to close the church.”

He united his life with the sacrifice of Christ, that he may be a living witness to this sacrifice: “this is my body which is given for you”, and he gave his body for the church. His strength, as he used to say was whenever he raised the bread and wine at Mass, where our Lord Jesus takes hold of us and preserves us with His love.

I congratulate you for this initiative, and I thank Fr. Savio Handula who agreed to mentor you. I encourage you to spread the fragrance of this faithful servant’s (Fr. Ragheed) life within young people, that they may know him not as a martyr of the early centuries, but a martyr from our day and age, who carries the flame of faith with joy and enthusiasm. Ankawa Youth Meetings, which will be coming soon is a good opportunity for you to share Fr. Ragheed’s ministry and his love for the Eucharist, his consolation.

Our Lord and King, accept the offering our brother’s life, Fr. Ragheed, Your faithful servant. Along with this offering, accept our prayers for Your church, and send her servants and witnesses, that they may be witnesses of Your mercy and goodness.