News by email Donate

Suggestions

Top Stories

Most Read

Popular Videos

Pope-white-Lamborghini-car-main_article_image.jpg
Aid to the Church in Need
World News

Pope hands over keys to Lamborghini for war-hit Iraqi Christians

A silver and gold Huracán Coupé presented to the pope by Italian car marker Lamborghini in 2017 was entered into a lottery which raised €200,000.

The sum (equivalent to £171,000) has been donated by the pontiff to the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) to fund the restoration of a nursery and a community centre.

The two Syriac Catholic sites are located in the Nineveh Plains village of Bashiqa - where an estimated 3,000 Christians were forced from their homes by the arrival of IS in 2014.

Across the region, tens of thousands of families have been returning since extremists were expelled.

Aid to the Church in Need

According to ACN, more than two-thirds of homes destroyed in Bashiqa have since been rebuilt, while around 50 per cent of its Christian residents (1,600) have returned.

The lottery, which saw tickets sold for $10 each, was held after a €715,000 bid for the car at Sotheby's auction in Monaco last summer fell through.

As of last month, more than 9,100 families had gone back to their homes in the Nineveh Plains. There were 20,000 living there before IS.

ADF International

 

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily newsletter and receive more stories like this straight to your inbox every morning.

Tell us what you think about our news service, what you want and how Premier fits into your news landscape. Take our quick survey!

A Monthly Gift Of $11 Makes A World Of Difference

In a world of fake news there’s never been a greater need for quality Christian journalism. Premier’s mission is to provide the Church with the most up to date and relevant news, told from a Christian perspective. But we can’t do it without you.

Unlike many websites we haven't put up a paywall — we want to keep our journalism free at the point of need and as open as we can. Premier’s news output takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. No one in the USA is sharing news like we are across radio, magazines and online so please help us to continue that today.

For a monthly gift of $11 or more we’d also be able to send you a free copy of the brand new Premier Bible, a wonderful Anglicised version of the NLT packed with exclusive bonus content, reading plan and resources to help you get the most out of scripture.

Your monthly support will make a world of difference. Thank you.

Support Us
Continue the conversation on our Facebook page

Related Articles

Sign up to our newsletter to stay informed with news from a Christian perspective.

News by email

Connect

Donate

Donate