RAGHEED GANNI, PRIEST AND MARTYR - 3 JUNE

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN JUNE

Saints celebrated on the 3rd of June

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SERVANT OF GOD RAGHEED GANNI, PRIEST AND MARTYR

Father Ragheed Aziz Ganni was born on January 20, 1972 in Mosul, Iraq.

From his earliest childhood, he had loved the Our Lord Jesus Christ and His Church and eventually felt called to the sacred priesthood. In 1996, Bishop Georgios Jarmo sent him to Rome to begin his priestly formation journey. During his study in Rome he resided at the Pontifical Irish College where he played football for the College. He continued his studies in theology at the University of Saint Thomas Aquinas. On October 13, 2001, he received his priestly ordination.

Fr Ragheed celebrated his first Mass in the Chapel at the Irish College. Today he is one of the nine figures represented in the apse of that chapel where the relics of Saint Oliver Plunket rest in the altar.

Despite being offered to work as a priest in Europe, Fr Ragheed perceived the strong need to return to Mosul and serve the faithful of his Church who were in tribulation due to the persecution. Iraq had became hostile territory for Christians. The Islamist violence had grown pervasive and constant, targeting Christians everywhere. The city of Mosul, too, suffered from campaigns of intimidation, kidnapping, and killing of Christians, in addition to the bombing of many churches and monasteries. 

Fr Ragheed's wish to serve the faithful in Mosul was granted; he went back to this city and committed himself to ministering to its people. After Fr Ragheed's return, the terror carried on unabated.

In May 2005, Fr Ragheed was invited to speak at a Eucharistic Congress in Bari, Italy, to share his experience of living as a Christian under persecution. He related what daily life in those circumstances entailed. For instance, he was administering First Holy Communion to children in the basement of his church as the sound of gunfire outside filled the room, terrifying the children. Fr Ragheed, frightened but calm, told the kids that the sound was fireworks celebrating their big day.

"The terrorists might think they can kill our bodies or our spirit by frightening us, but, on Sundays, churches are always full," he said. "They may try to take our life, but the Eucharist gives it back."

"There are days when I feel frail and full of fear. But when, holding the Eucharist, I say 'Behold the Lamb of God, Behold him who takes away the sin of the world,' I feel his strength in me," he said. "When I hold the Host in my hands, it is really He who is holding me and all of us, challenging the terrorists and keeping us united in his boundless love."

On June 3, 2007, Fr Ragheed had just finished celebrating the Sunday evening Mass, and three deacons decided to accompany the priest because of threats against his life. After the liturgy, he was walking away from the church the deacons and one of the deacon's wife, as the group was stopped by unknown armed men. 

One of them approached Fr Ragheed, shouting, "I told you to close the church, why didn’t you do it? Why are you still here?"

"How can I close the house of God?" replied Fr Ragheed simply.

The gunmen then dragged the woman away, and, gun trained on the priest and his companions, demanded that they convert to Islam. They steadfastly refused, staying faithful to Our Lord Jesus Christ to the very end. All four of them, unarmed men, were shot. 

The terrorists booby-trapped the bodies so that it took hours before they could be collected. Despite the threat of violence, 2.000 people attended the funerals of the four men. The Mass was celebrated by Fr Ragheed's bishop, Mar Paulos Rahho, Archbishop of Mosul. Archbishop Rahho had been critical of the incorporation of Muslim sharia into Iraq's recent constitution and in a final trip to Rome that year had mentioned threats on his life. In March 2008 the Archbishop was abducted and murdered. The kidnappers had demanded $3 million for his return, but the bishop had told his impoverished diocese not to pay the ransom, but to support the needy families of the parishes instead.

The Dicacastry for the Causes of Saints has opened Fr Ragheed's  cause for beatification, and declared him a Servant of God.

Sources: - https://vocations.ie/2020/11/25/the-inspiring-witness-of-fr-ragheed-ganni-servant-of-god/ - https://www.asianews.it/en/middle-east/iraq/fr-ragheed-ganni-s-miracle-an-example-and-guide-for-my-son-s-life - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragheed_Ganni - https://media.benedictine.edu/father-ragheed-ganni-hero-priest-of-iraq - https://www.ncregister.com/cna/a-priest-and-martyr-for-the-faith-the-cause-for-beatification-of-father-ragheed-ganni