Cathedral of Saint Joseph, Ankawa

Overview

The Cathedral of Saint Joseph is a Chaldean Catholic cathedral in Ankawa, a Christian-majority district of Erbil in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region (CBS News). Ankawa, an Erbil suburb, is about 80 percent Christian and home to roughly 60,000 Christians; in October 2021 the Kurdistan Regional Government made it an administrative district in its own right (Abouna).

Rather than repeat the widely circulated but unverified account of the cathedral’s construction, this profile concentrates on what independent sources document: its role as a refuge during the Islamic State’s 2014 offensive, its place in the archdiocese led by Archbishop Bashar Warda, and a 2018 visit by the Vatican’s Secretary of State.

A refuge in the gardens: summer 2014

In August 2014, after the Islamic State captured towns across the Nineveh Plain — including Qaraqosh (Baghdede), Karamlish and Bartella — a massive exodus of Christians fled north and east toward Dohuk and Erbil (AINA). Contemporary reporting described at least 10,000 refugees reaching the Ankawa area in the first days, many having walked tens of kilometers in extreme heat, with daytime temperatures around 40C (AINA).

With no shelters available, the displaced spent several nights in the gardens of the Diocese of the Chaldean Church of St. Joseph in Ankawa, alongside sidewalks, public parks and unfinished buildings (AINA). The cathedral also held Mass for the displaced; a CBS News photo essay from December 2014 documented thousands of displaced Christians sheltered at the church and attending Mass there (CBS News).

Cardinal Pietro Parolin himself later recalled “the tragic scenes of the summer of 2014, when so many people, forced to flee from their homes, knocked on your doors and were greeted with admirable hospitality,” noting that they had come “from Mosul and from the Plain of Nineveh” (Holy See Press Office).

The archdiocese and Archbishop Warda

The Chaldean Catholic archbishop of Erbil is Bashar Warda, ordained a priest in 1993 and consecrated archbishop in 2010 (Christianity Today). When the Islamic State drove Christians from Mosul and the Nineveh Plains beginning in 2014, thousands took refuge in Erbil and other cities of the secure northeast, and Warda coordinated relief aid from governments and charities (Christianity Today). In 2015 he established the Catholic University of Erbil as part of a longer effort to anchor the Christian community in the region (Christianity Today).

Parolin’s 2018 homily at the cathedral was addressed in part to “Your Grace Archbishop Bashar Warda,” placing the cathedral at the institutional center of that relief effort (Holy See Press Office).

The 2018 Vatican visit

During a visit to Iraq for the Christmas celebrations of 24-28 December 2018, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, celebrated Holy Mass at the cathedral on 26 December (Holy See Press Office). The Holy See’s bulletin records that Parolin brought the apostolic blessing of Pope Francis and recalled the community’s hospitality to the displaced (Holy See Press Office). He also noted that many displaced families had already begun returning to their villages, which were being rebuilt, and expressed hope that others would follow (Holy See Press Office).

Ankawa’s changing status

Ankawa’s Christian population grew dramatically after 2014: up to 120,000 Christians fled to the area in August 2014 following the ISIS invasion of the Nineveh Plains, and although many later returned, many stayed (Abouna). In October 2021, Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani announced that Ankawa would become an administrative district in its own right, giving its residents the authority to elect civil leaders such as a mayor and powers over security and welfare support — a decision Archbishop Warda called “important” and “strategic” (Christianity Today). The announcement followed a meeting between Barzani and bishops including Warda, who had presented a written request for special status for Ankawa (Abouna).

What this profile does not claim

This profile does not assert a construction date, founding archbishop, or architectural description for the cathedral. A widely repeated account — that construction began in 1978 while Stephan Babaka was archbishop, that the church was consecrated in 1981, and that its entrance was modeled on the Ishtar Gate — appears in tertiary references but could not be confirmed against an independent source read in full, so it is not repeated here.

The profile also does not confuse this cathedral with other churches sharing its dedication: there is a separate Saint Joseph’s Chaldean Cathedral in Baghdad, where Father Nadheer Dako was overseeing preparations for Pope Francis’s 2021 visit (The National). At the time of writing, FactsLedger held no profiles of the Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese of Erbil, Archbishop Bashar Warda, or the city of Erbil, so no internal links to those directly related entities could be added; they are candidates for future profiles.