Paolo Dall'Oglio (born November 17, 1954) is an Italian

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

priest and peace activist. He was exiled from Syria by the government in 2012 for meeting with members of the opposition and criticizing the alleged actions of the Syrian government during the Syrian civil war. He was kidnapped by

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...

on 29 July 2013. Before his kidnapping, he had served for three decades at the Deir Mar Musa Al-Abashi, a 6th-century monastery north of

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

. He has been credited with the reconstruction of the Mar Musa complex and its reinvention as a centre of interfaith dialogue. In February 2019, news emerged that he may still be alive inside

Deir ez-Zor Governorate Deir ez-Zor Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة دير الزور / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Dayr az-Zawr'') is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in eastern Syria, bordering Iraq. It has an area of 33,060 km2 ( ...

, Syria.

Biography

In 1975, Paolo Dall'Oglio joined the

Jesuit order , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

. He spent his

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

in Italy before starting university studies of

Arabic language Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

and

Islamic studies Islamic studies refers to the academic study of Islam, and generally to academic multidisciplinary "studies" programs—programs similar to others that focus on the history, texts and theologies of other religious traditions, such as Easter ...

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

, and

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. In 1982, he explored the ruins of the old

Syriac Syriac may refer to: *Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages a ...

Monastery of Saint Moses the Abyssinian Deir Mar Musa al-Habashi ( syr, ܕܝܪܐ ܪܡܪܝ ܡܘܫܐ ܟܘܫܝܐ ''deiro d-mor mūše kūšoyo''; ar, دير مار موسى الحبشي, ALA-LC: ''dayr mār Mūsá al-Ḥabashī''), literally the Monastery of Saint Moses the Abyssinian, ...

(Deir Mar Musa) that can be traced back to the 6th century and had been abandoned since the 19th century. In 1984, Dall'Oglio was ordained priest in the Syriac Catholic rite. In the same year, he obtained a degree in Arabic language and Islamic studies from Naples Eastern University "L'Orientale" and in Catholic theology from the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

. In 1986, he obtained another master's degree in

Missiology Missiology is the academic study of the Christian mission history and methodology, which began to be developed as an academic discipline in the 19th century. History Missiology as an academic discipline appeared only in the 19th century. It was ...

from the Pontifical Gregorian University. In 1989, he obtained a PhD degree from the Pontifical Gregorian University. He wrote his doctoral dissertation on the topic "About Hope in Islam". In 1992, with deacon Jacques Mourad, Paolo “officially” founded under the authority of the

Syriac Catholic Church The Syriac Catholic Church ( syc, ܥܕܬܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܬܐ ܩܬܘܠܝܩܝܬܐ, ʿĪṯo Suryayṯo Qaṯolīqayṯo, ar, الكنيسة السريانية الكاثوليكية) is an Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic Christianity ...

a double

monastic community A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

(men and women, which is normally contrary to the XX canon of the Second Council of Nicaea), named "the Al-Khalil Monastic Community of Deir Mar Moussa al-Habashi", devoted to four tasks:

prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified a ...

(in Arabic salat),

work Work may refer to: * Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community ** Manual labour, physical work done by humans ** House work, housework, or homemaking ** Working animal, an animal tr ...

(amal),

hospitality Hospitality is the relationship between a guest and a host, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill, including the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis de Jaucourt, Louis, chevalier de J ...

(dayafa) and

dialogue Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literary and theatrical form that depicts such an exchange. As a philosophical or didactic device, it is c ...

(hiwar), dedicated to Muslim-Christian dialogue. In 2009, Dall'Oglio obtained the double honorary doctorate of the

Université catholique de Louvain The Université catholique de Louvain (also known as the Catholic University of Louvain, the English translation of its French name, and the University of Louvain, its official English name) is Belgium's largest French-speaking university. It ...

and the

KU Leuven KU Leuven (or Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Belgium. It conducts teaching, research, and services in computer science, engineering, natural sciences, theology, humanities, medicine, l ...

. He contributed regularly to the magazine ''"Popoli"'', the international magazine of the Italian Jesuits, established in 1915.

Role in the Syrian civil war

In 2011, Dall'Oglio wrote an article pleading for a peaceful democratic transition in Syria, based on what he called "consensual democracy". He also met with opposition activists and participated in the funeral service for the 28-year-old Christian filmmaker Bassel Shehadeh, who had been murdered in Homs. The Syrian government reacted sharply and issued an expulsion order. Dall'Oglio ignored the order for a couple of months and continued living in Syria. However, following the publication of an open letter to UN special envoy

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder ...

in May 2012, he obeyed his bishop who urged him to leave the country. He left Syria on 12 June 2012 and joined in exile the newly established Deir Maryam al-Adhra of his community in

Sulaymaniyah Sulaymaniyah, also spelled as Slemani ( ku, سلێمانی, Silêmanî, ar, السليمانية, as-Sulaymāniyyah), is a city in the east of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, not far from the Iran–Iraq border. It is surrounded by the Azmar, Go ...

Iraqi Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan ( ku, باشووری کوردستان, Başûrê Kurdistanê) refers to the Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of "Kurdistan" in Western Asia, which also incl ...

. In December 2012, Dall'Oglio was awarded the Peace Prize of the Italian region of

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

that is dedicated to persons having done extraordinary work in the field of peacebuilding. In late July 2013 Dall'Oglio entered rebel held territory in eastern Syria but was soon kidnapped by the militants of the

, while walking in

Raqqa Raqqa ( ar, ٱلرَّقَّة, ar-Raqqah, also and ) (Kurdish languages, Kurdish: Reqa/ ڕەقە) is a city in Syria on the northeast bank of the Euphrates River, about east of Aleppo. It is located east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. T ...

on 29 July. Opposition sources from Raqqa said that Paolo Dall'Oglio has been executed by the extremist group and his body thrown into a ground hole in the city of Raqqa, called “Al-Houta”. Dead Assad loyalist soldiers would have often been thrown into the same hole. The claims are not yet confirmed. However, the

Rewards for Justice Program The Rewards for Justice Program (RFJ) is the counterterrorism and counterintelligence platform administered by the U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service agency. The Rewards For Justice program is seeking information leading to the ...

offers $5 million for information on ISIS network responsible for kidnapping Christian clerics: Maher Mahfouz, Michael Kayyal,

Yohanna Ibrahim Yohanna Ibrahim ( ar, يوحنا إبراهيم) also Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim (born August 18, 1948) is the Syriac Orthodox archbishop of Aleppo. He was kidnapped on April 22, 2013, along with Paul (Yazigi), the Greek Orthodox metropolitan of ...

, Boulos Yazigi, and Paolo Dall’Oglio. In 2023,

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

wrote the

preface __NOTOC__ A preface () or proem () is an introduction to a book or other literary work written by the work's author. An introductory essay written by a different person is a '' foreword'' and precedes an author's preface. The preface often closes ...

for ''Il mio testamento,'' a collection of previously unpublished spiritual conferences that Dall'Oglio gave to his monastic community soon before his expulsion from Syria.

Selected bibliography

* ''Speranza nell'Islam: Interpretazione della prospettiva escatologica di Corano XVIII'', 365 pp., Marietti, Milano 1991, * ''Amoureux de l'islam, croyant en Jésus'', in cooperation with Églantine Gabaix-Hialé, preface by

Régis Debray Jules Régis Debray (; born 2 September 1940) is a French philosopher, journalist, former government official and academic. He is known for his theorization of mediology, a critical theory of the long-term transmission of cultural meaning in hum ...

, 190 pp., Les Editions de l'Atelier, Paris 2009, * ''La sete di Ismaele. Siria, diario monastico islamo-cristiano'', Gabrielli Editori, Verona 2011, *
''La démocratie consensuelle, pour l’unité nationale''
27 July 2011, published on the official website of the monastery of Mar Musa * ''La rage et la lumière'', in cooperation with Églantine Gabaix-Hialé, Les Editions de l'Atelier, Paris, May 2013 * (in Italian) ''Il mio testamento'', the Ambrosian Center, 2023,

Biography

Role in the Syrian civil war

Selected bibliography

See also

References

Further reading