Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city, is a very ancient city, with Christians present there since the early centuries (there are archaeological traces of domestic churches from the 2nd century).

The war from 2012 to 2016 caused a great deal of damage, which is still visible today as only a few buildings have been restored. Our Carmelite sisters continue their mission of prayer and fraternal life in this city with great courage: the inner peace that comes from the Lord outweighs any concerns about the future.

Since COVID, and then the war in Israel on October 7, only a few Carmelite fathers from Lebanon had been able to visit the community. The president of our federation had not been able to visit since 2021, but it was possible again during the last week of February 2026. These were intense moments of sharing and fraternal joy, and therefore of mutual encouragement.

The offering of our lives in the simplicity of daily life is our participation in the life of the Church and of the people who are ours, where we live. Living isolated from the rest of the world, as our sisters in Aleppo do, means showing solidarity with a people subjected to unjust international sanctions. “We live in communion with the suffering population around us ; if the Muslim lady who does our shopping says ‘it’s too expensive for me’, then it’s too expensive for us too,” say the sisters.

The Christians of Aleppo, whose numbers have fallen from 200,000 to less than 30,000, do not want to give up. They are increasing their efforts to help one another, knowing that through their faith they are conquerors of the world. We pray with them and for them.