On September 2-3, the Parish of the Immaculate Conception in Aarhus celebrated its 150th anniversary after the Reformation. Earlier, there were already Catholic communities in the city and they developed until 1537. The jubilee celebrations began on Saturday at 12.00 with the Eucharist celebrated in the Chaldean rite in the Chaldean church of Saint Nicholas. The liturgy gathered the Iraqi community, which is an important Catholic group in the city. The Mass was presided over by a Jesuit – Father Antoine Audo SJ, Chaldean Bishop of Aleppo in Syria, who accepted the invitation to preside over the jubilee celebrations.

Main Sunday Holy Mass in the Latin part of the parish gathered many people from the parish community, as well as guests from neighboring parishes and other cities. The church was filled to capacity. Many people followed the liturgy on screens prepared in the parish house, because the church could not accommodate all the guests.

Bishop Antoine presided over the Holy Mass together with Bishop Czesław Kozon from Copenhagen and the Jesuits from Aarhus and Copenhagen. Fr. Vasyl Bahlei from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic community, a friend of the Jesuits, was invited. The Superior of the Greater Poland-Mazivia Province of the Society of Jesus, to which Denmark belongs, was represented by Father Mateusz Ignacik SJ. Priests of the Danish Lutheran Church were also present at the ceremony.

After the Holy Mass, the celebration continued at a nearby Catholic school. There was time for speeches and sharing of gifts. One of the gifts was especially touching. The Ukrainian community presented a special relic – part of a rocket brought by soldiers from the front in Bakhmut decorated with the image of Saint Ignatius. Many Ukrainians expressed their gratitude for the welcome they experienced in the Aarhus parish.