In The Middle Of No Where, In A Dessert In Syria

The history of the refoundation of the monastery of Mar Musa al-Habashi began in 1982, when a young Italian Jesuit called Fr. Paolo Dall'Oglio was in the area on a retreat, during which he fell off of a cliff, almost dying. In 1984 he began restoration with the aid of volunteers from the local communities and from Europe. In 1991 he completed a Ph.D. in comparative religion and Islamic studies at the Gregoriana in Rome. Within the year he had begun the official foundation, with the monastery in occupation since that date, officially under the aegis of the Syrian Catholic church.

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