Our Lady Al- Tahira Caldea of Mosul (Iraq)

Marian devotion

Where is he?

The Caldea church of Al-Tahira is in the northern part of the Old City of Mosul, in the governorate of Nineveh, Iraq. "Al-Tahira" means the Pursima, but the name applies to several temples in the city. This fact sheet identifies the church of the Catholic Chaldea Church, also called the Lower Al-Tahira or the Tahtaniyya; it should not be confused with the Syrian-Catholic Al-Tahira church, located at another point and treated in a separate fact sheet.

Mesopotamia Heritage publishes for this building coordinates 36 ° 21 '12.69 ″ N, 43 ° 07' 24.29 ″ E, which here are rounded to 36.3535, 43.1234. The precision is verified_building because it was a co-ordinate published for the monument. It is not interpreted as the inner position of an altar or as proof of a supernatural tradition.

Documented history

The heritage source places the lower and oldest part in the 18th century and explains that the church was rebuilt in 1744 on the site of an earlier convent. The history of Mosul also retains the existence of several churches with the same title, each belonging to a different denomination. This precision is essential: sharing the name does not make the temples a single tab or a single place.

The building was damaged and looted during the occupation of Mosul between 2014 and 2017 and during the bombing of the city's battle. Mesopotamia Heritage indicates that the interior was relatively safe against the destruction of the upper parts, walls and bell tower. The restoration of the Chaldea church was carried out in 2022 by L'Śuvre d'Orient and the heritage source announced its opening for October 15, 2025. It is kept here as a data from that source, without extending it beyond what it documents.

The church was also the seat of the Chaldean Archbishop of Mosul until the murder of Paulos Faraj Rahho in 2008. The archbishopric seat was then moved to the Cathedral of Mar Yousif in Ankawa. The institutional history of the building and the history of the community are related, but they should not be confused.

Tradition and devotion

The title of the Pursima expresses the veneration of the Virgin Mary in the Catholic Chaldea Church. The heritage source also mentions a poetic tradition linked to Mosul's defense during the siege of 1743 and to the protection attributed to Mary. We present it as tradition and religious memory, not as a military chronicle demonstrated by supernatural intervention.

Catholics worship Mary and ask her to intercede before God. They do not worship it: worship corresponds only to God. A Marian temple can be a place of prayer, memory and liturgical worship without each account associated with it having a supernatural judgment.

Legend and limits of the record

There is no Marian apparition specifically linked to the Caldea church of Al-Tahira or an approved miracle associated with the building. The traditional song on the protection of the Virgin is preserved in its place of tradition, without making it a historical test. Nor is it said that the object, the building or its restoration guarantee spiritual or material favors.

Ecclesial State

The state indicated is veneration _ permittedIt is a church of the Catholic Chaldea Church and a documented place of public veneration. The label does not mean that there is an approval of apparitions or miracles. The heritage source documents the belonging and history of the monument, not a pronunciation of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith on supernatural phenomena.

Anecdotes and stories

A particularly significant story is the coexistence in Mosul of several churches called Al-Tahira. This title coincidence reflects the wealth of the city's Christian communities and explains why the map distinguishes buildings rather than group them by name. It also helps to read restoration as a recovery of a concrete Caldea memory, not as the restoration of all Marian churches in Mosul.

The bell tower, the damage of war and recent restoration are part of the material biography of the temple. The tab retains them as heritage and memory of a community; it does not present the survival of the building as a sign that the source does not claim.

Prayer

Saint Mary, the Pursima, intercedes before the Lord for the Chaldea Church of Mosul, for their families and for all the Christians of Iraq. Protect those who rebuild their homes and help us to serve Jesus Christ with faithful memory, peace and charity. Amen.

Sources

• Mesopotamia Heritage, The Al-Tāhirā Chaldean church in Mosul (HTTP 200).
• Ministère de la Culture, Christian buildings in Mosul (HTTP 200).
• OpenStreetMap mapping for Al-Tahira Caldea de Mosul (HTTP 200); the building's coordinate comes from Mesopotamia Heritage.