For the past three weeks, 13 Franciscan students, along with Dr. Tiffany Boury and Father Jonathan St. Andre, TOR, have been serving on our first-ever mission trip to Iraq!

This new mission trip opportunity was made possible thanks to Franciscan University’s partnership with the Catholic University of Erbil and Archbishop Bashar Warda and Rhett Young’s coordination with past Missions of Peace.

While on mission, our students taught in primary schools and highschools, served in the hospital, and worked closely with the Archbishop, immersing themselves in the culture of Iraq. They even met students from Iraq who take online classes with Franciscan.

Previously, three Franciscan University Master’s students taught at MarQardahk School, and this year the school will employ five Franciscan University Masters and alumni to teach there once again. The partnership will be expanding to open up teaching opportunities with Catholic University of Erbil in 2023 and the newly formed Aci Mena a partnership with EWTN Global Catholic Network.