Pope Francis will be visiting Iraq in March, the Vatican office announced. This will be the first ever visit of the Pope to the Western Asian state.
Pope Francis, like much of the world leaders, had to limit his international visits amidst the Corona Virus crisis. The up coming visit in March will be the religious leader’s first international visit for apostolic work in 15 months.
The Pope will be visiting Qaraqosh ,Mosul, Baghdad, Erbil and other cities in his visit planned between the 5th to 8th of March.
The Vatican communique stated that the travel itinerary will be shared later and all the arrangements will be made keeping in view the then situation of the world wide disease.
A Message of Peace
Iraqi President Barham Salih had officially invited the Pope to the country in July 2019. The religious leader him self has expressed the desire to visit the country many times.
His Holiness the Pope will visit Iraq in March 2021. The journey of Pope Francis to Mesopotamia- cradle of civilization, birthplace of Abraham, father of the faithful- will be a message of peace to Iraqis of all religions & serve to affirm our common values of justice & dignity
— Barham Salih (@BarhamSalih) December 7, 2020
The government of Iraq welcomed the news and stated that it will be a ‘historic’ visit. The Foreign Ministry released a statement claiming that the planned visit will be a message of peace, to Iraq and the entire region.
Christian Community in Iraq
Iraq is home to around a 100,000 Christian citizens. Many have fled the country following the American invasion in 2003 which plunged the country into instability.
The instability paved the way for militant groups to take control over parts of the country. The ensuing sectarian warfare forced many followers of the religion to flee from Iraq.
Pope Francis, who will be turning 84 next week, had last year stated that it was his utmost desire to visit Iraq. He also hoped that peace would prevail in the country and it would not fall victim to regional conflicts.
I’m Susan Karen, a professional writer and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in Entertainment news, writing stories that keep readers informed on all the latest developments in the industry. With over five years of experience in creating engaging content and copywriting for various media outlets, I have grown to become an invaluable asset to any team.
