RG 11.2 Foreign Mission Records, Iraq Mission

Authors

New England Jesuit Province Archives
Iraq Mission of New England Jesuit Province

Document Type

Finding Aid

Collection Date

1931-2005

Finding Aid Date

3-18-2015

Identifier

RG 11.2 Iraq

Description

All physical materials associated with the New England Province Archive are currently held by the Jesuit Archives in St. Louis, MO. Any inquiries about these materials should be directed to the Jesuit Archives . Electronic versions of some items and the descriptions and finding aids to the Archives, which are hosted in CrossWorks, are provided only as a courtesy.

The Baghdad Mission was begun in 1932. Responsibility for the mission was assigned to the New England Province. Over time, the mission consisted of two schools for the general public: Baghdad College and Al Hikma University, an Arabic House of Studies for Jesuits, and a Minor Seminary. The government in Iraq was far from stable. In early September 1968 the new government announced that Al Hikma would be “Iraqicized”, meaning that the Iraqi government would take over the school and its administration. The Al Hikma Jesuits left Baghdad in late November 1968. Nine months later, on August 29, 1969, the thirty-three Baghdad College American Jesuits received notification of dismissal from the country as well. Two Iraqi Jesuits remained as Prefects of the Students for Baghdad College and taught religion, choosing to leave Iraq in 1970.

The Records of the Iraq Mission are divided into four series: Superior of Iraq Mission Records, Baghdad College Records, Al Hikma University Records and the Al Baghdadi newsletters. Many of these materials were transferred to the New England Province after the expulsion. The collection contains correspondence, catalogs, brochures, yearbooks and newsletters. The bulk of the material is from the 1950s and 1960s. This collection does not hold any records of the Arabic House of Studies for Jesuits or the Minor Seminary.

Comments

There are complimentary records in

• RG 1 Records of the Provincial, Series 9 Missions
• RG 7 Educations Apostolate Records
• RG 11.1 Missions Offices Records, New England Jesuit Foreign Missions, Iraq Mission
• RG 12 Audiovisual
• RG 13 Blueprints and Architectural Drawings
• MS/Personal Papers Collection.

The yearbooks of Baghdad College and Al-Hikma University have been digitized and can also be viewed on CrossWorks at Baghdad College Yearbook and Al-Hikma Yearbook

Recommended Citation

New England Jesuit Province Archives and Iraq Mission of New England Jesuit Province, "RG 11.2 Foreign Mission Records, Iraq Mission" (2015). Finding Aids, Record Groups. 1.
https://crossworks.holycross.edu/findaid_nen_rg/1