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<\/source><\/picture>A Christian group seeks to establish icons of the Virgin Mary in churches throughout certain parts of the world to remind people of faith to pray for their fellow believers who face persecution.<\/p>\n
Father Benedict Kiely is the founder of\u00a0Nasarean<\/a>, the non-profit organization behind the \u201cMary, Mother of Persecuted Christians\u201d project, which aims to open shrines dedicated to the prayer of persecuted Christians throughout the United States and Europe. Kiely founded the non-profit in 2014, and the organization helps persecuted Christians worldwide but focuses primarily on the Middle East.<\/p>\n The group uses an icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary to invite others to pray at the shrine after a local bishop blesses it. In addition to the depiction of Mary holding the Christ child, the icon features the words \u201cMother of the Persecuted\u201d in Aramaic.<\/p>\n According to Nasarean\u2019s\u00a0website<\/a>, the Archbishop of Stockholm, Cardinal Anders Arborelius, of the Holy Martyrs Syriac Catholic Church, blessed the recent shrine on July 22. The installation and blessing of the icon took place following a Syriac Catholic Mass to celebrate the event.\u00a0<\/p>\n The shrine at the Stockholm-based church is the fourth installation that the group has been involved with, and it is the first one to take place in mainland Europe, according to Nasarean.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a particularly special church for Nasarean \u2014 the sanctuary depicts some of the modern martyrs, including Fr. Ragheed Ganni and Bishop Raho \u2014 both martyred in Mosul,\u201d the Christian advocacy group stated. \u201cWe are truly blessed and very much encouraged by this wonderful experience; please keep our persecuted brethren in your prayers and blessings on all who made this newest installation possible!\u201d<\/p>\n As the\u00a0National Catholic Register<\/a>\u00a0reported Tuesday, Kiely stated that the shrine is intended to help Christians in the West remember their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ facing persecution in other parts of the world.<\/p>\n \u201cBelievers are called to echo the prescription contained in the Acts of the Apostles, where the Church prayed \u2018constantly\u2019 when St. Peter was imprisoned,\u201d the founder of Nasarean told NCR in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Catholic priest bemoaned what he perceived to be a lack of initiative among Catholic leaders in various countries, stating that many have \u2018first world priorities\u2019 focused on social or environmental issues.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cScripture specifically tells us that if one part of the Body suffers, all suffer,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n The shrine in Stockholm is not the first to be installed since Kiely\u2019s organization launched the project. In 2017, the first was inaugurated in the Church of St. Michael, Manhattan, as NCR reported. Nasarean also facilitated the establishment of the shrine at the Ordinariate Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and St. Gregory in London and another in October 2022 in Worcester, Massachusetts.\u00a0<\/p>\n As\u00a0The Pillar<\/a>\u00a0reported last month, Sister Souraya, a Syrian nun of the Basilian Order, painted the icons of Mary. In a June 2022\u00a0tweet<\/a>, Nasarean shared that it had helped the nun rebuild her studio outside of Beirut, the Lebanese capital.\u00a0<\/p>\n In a July 23 statement to the Catholic outlet, Kiely clarified that Nasarean provides diocesan bishops with the icons for free.\u00a0<\/p>\n Regarding the establishment of one of the icons in Sweden, Kiely cited a November 2020\u00a0study<\/a>\u00a0by the Mashriq & Mahjar: Journal of Middle East and North African Migration Studies. The study found that the European country is home to over 120,000 Middle Eastern Christians.\u00a0<\/p>\n As the study also noted, this group of people is simultaneous “outsiders” due to their ethnicity or migrant status and “insiders” through a claim of shared history of Christian faith.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Nasarean\u2019s efforts to inspire prayer for persecuted Christians can be viewed in the context of the watchdog group Open Doors\u2019\u00a0World Watch List 2023<\/a>. According to the report, more than 360 million Christians face persecution for their faith, and one in seven Christians are persecuted worldwide.\u00a0<\/p>\n One in five Christians is persecuted in Africa, while two in five are persecuted in Asia, according to the watchdog group.<\/p>\n Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at:\u00a0samantha.kamman@christianpost.com<\/a>. Follow her on Twitter:\u00a0@Samantha_Kamman<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Join thousands of others to get the FREEDOM POST<\/strong> newsletter for free, sent twice a week from The Christian Post.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nFree<\/span> Religious Freedom Updates<\/h2>\n