Chalice shot by ISIS militants to be displayed in Spanish churches

As part of an effort to remember and pray for persecuted Christians, several churches in the diocese of Malaga, Spain, are displaying a chalice that was shot by state Islam.

The chalice was saved by a Syrian Catholic church in the city of Qaraqosh, in the Nineveh plain in Iraq. It was brought to the diocese of Malaga by the papal charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) to be displayed during masses offered for persecuted Christians.

“This cup was used by the jihadists for target practice,” explained Ana María Aldea, ACN delegate in Malaga. "What they did not imagine is that it would be rededicated and taken to many parts of the world to celebrate Mass in his presence."

"With this, we want to make visible a reality that we sometimes see on television, but we are not really aware of what we are seeing".

The purpose of displaying the chalice during mass, Aldea said, is "to make visible to the inhabitants of Malaga the religious persecution that many Christians suffer today, and which has existed since the early days of the Church".

According to the diocese, the first mass with this chalice took place on August 23 in the parishes of San Isidro Labrador and Santa María de la Cabeza in the city of Cártama, the chalice will be in the diocese until September 14.

“When you see this cup with the entry and exit of the bullet, it is then that you realize the persecution that Christians are undergoing in these places,” Aldea said.

The Islamic State, also known as ISIS, invaded northern Iraq in 2014. Their forces expanded into the Nineveh plain, home to several predominantly Christian cities, forcing over 100.000 Christians to flee, mainly to neighboring Iraqi Kurdistan. for safety. During their occupation, ISIS militants destroyed many Christian homes and businesses. Some churches were destroyed or severely damaged.

In 2016, the European Union, the United States and Great Britain declared the Islamic State's attacks on Christians and other religious minorities a genocide.

ISIS was largely defeated and driven out of its territory in Iraq, including Mosul and the Nineveh plain cities, in 2017. A good number of Christians have returned to their devastated cities to rebuild, but many remain reluctant to return due to the security situation instability