Our Lady of the Hour Church, Catholic church in Old Mosul, Iraq
Our Lady of the Hour Church is a Catholic church in Old Mosul featuring a three-aisle layout with five transepts. The interior is supported by cylindrical pillars topped with ornamental capitals that create a classical appearance throughout the space.
The Dominican Fathers began building the church on 9 April 1866 as their centre in Mosul; it took six years and was consecrated on 4 August 1873 in the presence of the papal envoy Nicholas the Capuchin and the Syriac Catholic and Chaldean bishops. Its bell tower was only completed in July 1882. Cracked walls led to an Italian restoration in 1989 that stopped with the Gulf War; ISIS blew up the church in 2016, and rebuilding funded by the UAE and carried out by UNESCO began in March 2022.
The church's nickname, "Clock Church", comes from the clock donated by Empress Eugénie in 1880, whose four-faced mechanism was wound by hand for over a century and heard in villages up to 15 km away. Its courtyard holds a replica of the Lourdes grotto with a statue of Our Lady of Miracles where the faithful pray.
The building has been open to visitors since January 2024 following major restoration work. Access may vary depending on local conditions, so it is wise to check current visiting information before planning your trip.
The clock in the tower was a gift to the Dominican Fathers from Empress Eugénie de Montijo, wife of Napoleon III, in recognition of their services in the city. Its four-faced mechanism was wound by hand for over a century until it was replaced by an electronic one in the 1980s. Its chimes carried to villages more than 15 km away.
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