A Franciscan College in Aleppo, Syria, was heavily damaged by a Russian attack on Sunday.

Russia supports Syrian Leader Bashar al Assad and the bombings were in response to Jihadist rebels overrunning the city.

The college is located in an inner section of a Franciscan monastery near the church where Mass was scheduled to be celebrated later that evening.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani instructed Italy’s Ambassador to Moscow, Cecilia Piccioni, to meet with Russian officials to request a stop to new military strikes on religious institutions or civilian structures.

On Monday, Bishop Hanna Jallouf, OFM, apostolic vicar of Aleppo since July 2023, said that the situation is now “a little calmer”.

“Yesterday, they bombed Terra Santa College, inflicting serious material damage but without casualties. Now the picture is quieter, even if people continue to be afraid of Russian missiles falling on our heads,” said Bishop Jallouf.

To some extent, the bishop knows the rebel groups who have seized the city since he spent years in Idlib. “They treated us with respect and so far they have not harmed any Christian. On the contrary, the order is to respect our rites, our churches, even our clothes,” he said.