Detroit — Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron will host a special holy hour Nov. 21 at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament to pray for and with Christians of the Middle East.

The holy hour, beginning at 7 p.m., will entrust the Chaldean Catholics, Melkite Catholics, Maronite Catholics, Armenian Catholics and Syriac Catholics — as well as all Christians of the Middle East — to the protection of Our Lady, Queen of Peace.

“Any war in the world anywhere is detrimental to the inhabitants of that region,” said Bishop Mar Ibrahim N. Ibrahim, of Southfield-based St. Thomas the Apostle Chaldean Catholic Diocese, in an interview with The Michigan Catholic.

“Emptying the Middle East countries from the Christians is detrimental to those countries in the first place,” he said. “And it is bad for the West as well.”

The bishop said the holy hour will be “a good opportunity” for Eastern and Western Catholics to come together and pray for peace.

Krista Bajoka, adjunct to the moderator of the curia with the Archdiocese of Detroit, said the turmoil in that region hits close to home.

“My husband is Chaldean, so I am aware of the persecution and suffering of Christians in Iraq,” Bajoka said. “Additionally, those who are able to leave as refugees suffer in a different way, being estranged from their families… it is not uncommon that immediate family members are separated by countries and continents.”

She said she hopes the holy hour will lead more Catholics to pray for those who suffer any form of persecution, that they might have greater support and comfort.