Skip to main content

Pope urges Iraqis 'not to give up' as historic pilgrimage ends

Pope Francis spent the final day of his historic trip to Iraq visiting areas in which the country’s Christian minority has traditionally had a sizeable presence and the capital of the Kurdish region, to which many have fled amid improved but still fragile security.
ERBIL, IRAQ - MARCH 07: (EDITORS NOTE: Transmitted with alternate crop) Pope Francis waves to the crowd as he arrives to conduct mass at the  Franso Hariri Stadium on March 07, 2021 in Erbil, Iraq. Pope Francis arrived in Erbil, the final stop of his historic four-day visit, the first-ever papal visit to Iraq. In his first foreign trip since the start of the pandemic, Pope Francis visited Baghdad, Najaf, Erbil, and the cities of Qaraqosh and Mosul, which were heavily destroyed by ISIS. Although the trip is

ERBIL, Iraqi Kurdistan — The head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, arrived in the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq just after 8 a.m. on March 7, on the last full day of his three-day visit to the country, touching down not far from where rockets had hit some three weeks before.

Awaiting him were top Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) officials and representatives of several religious denominations as well as many women and children, mostly in brightly colored traditional clothing, singing songs with “baba” (“pope”) featuring prominently.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.