With the fall of Mosul to the Islamic State on July 19, 2014, the persecution of Christian minorities climaxed not only in Mosul, but the whole region of Northern Iraq. Desecration and destruction of centuries old Christian Holy Sites and relics tore at the hearts of Christians the world over. Christians were forced to flee their homelands, or recant their faith in Christ and convert to Islam. The persecution of Christians in Mosul and the surrounding Nineveh Plains removed a Christian community that had been present in the region since the 1st century A.D. On this day of October 16, 2014, for the first time in 1,800 years, no Masses were said in Mosul.
