BAGHDAD, MISSIONS OF. — The archdiocese of B. comprises the three apostolic prefectures of B., Mosul, and Mardin, which were transformed into missions in 1896. The first is entrusted to the Discalced Carmelites, among whom Fr. Giuseppe M. di Gesù, of the Province of Burgundy, began the mission in 1721 with the title of provincial.
The mission of B. also includes Basra and Amara, and there work 15 Carmelites who maintain 4 churches, 4 oratories, a boarding school, an orphanage, a school, and an Arabic-language journal. They are assisted by 44 Sisters of the Presentation of Tours, who run 4 schools, 2 boarding schools, an orphanage, and 2 hospices.
The mission of Mosul belongs to the Dominicans, who direct a Syro-Chaldean seminary. In it, moreover, the Dominican Sisters of the Presentation of Tours are engaged in the education of young women and the care of the sick.
The third mission, that of Mardin, is entrusted to the Capuchins. Almost entirely destroyed by the First World War and the persecutions of the Turks, in 1916 it was transferred to the other mission in Syria.