On Wednesday, Patriarch Mar Polis III Nona, the Patriarch of the Chaldean Church in Iraq and the world, thanked the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for its support for the Catholic University in Erbil during a graduation ceremony.

“We are also grateful to the KRG for its support and its presence in the life of this institution,” he said.

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The Catholic University was founded in 2015 as an initiative by Archbishop Bashar Warda, and a complex was built in Erbil for the students of al-Hamdaniya University in Nineveh, which had been largely destroyed and was occupied by ISIS at the time.

“We remember with gratitude Archbishop Warda’s vision, which led to the establishment of this university, and all those who have helped and supported it since 2015, including the Board of Trustees, the administration, officers, benefactors, and supporters,” Patriarch Nona said.

“The purpose of the Catholic University is not just to prepare graduates with technical knowledge and professional qualifications. We must also form men and women who understand the dignity of every human person, who value freedom, dialogue, and responsibility,” he told the graduates.

Moreover, the Patriarch also expressed his understanding for young people in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region seeking opportunities abroad. “We understand these concerns, we know the difficulties and we cannot ask young people to remain without also working to create the conditions in which they can live with dignity and find meaningful work,” he said.

“Our desire is not simply that our young people remain, our desire is that they have a reason to remain, a future to build, and a society in which they can flourish.”

During the graduation ceremony, Archbishop Warda called on students to “preserve the friendships you have built here, continue in learning, and offer your country the talents and initiatives that would help in flourishing. Your university will always be glad to listen to your experience and to what you bring and to see what you offer to those who came after you.”

Dr. Karam Shamasha, Provost at the Catholic University in Erbil, told Kurdistan Chronicle that the university is unique because it started with a mission to provide education for displaced and marginalized people.

“A lot of the people displaced by ISIS were Christian, Yezidi. A lot of minorities come to us, and we bring them all together because in the church we believe that our mission is not just providing food for these families, but also protecting them, giving them another opportunity to live and defend themselves.”

He underlined that the university was founded as “a response against the darkness with the light of education.”