Pope Francis has arrived in Iraq for a whirlwind four-city tour across three days.
It’s the pontiff’s first trip since November 2019 and the coronavirus restrictions of travel that kept him in Italy.
He is the first pope ever to travel to Iraq.
Quite the welcome for Pope Francis in Iraq, the Pope clearly enjoying himself too #PopeInIraq pic.twitter.com/gIerK9OyTP
— Catholic Sat (@CatholicSat) March 5, 2021
Pope Francis landed in Baghdad and said he felt duty-bound to make the 'emblematic' visit because Iraq had suffered so much for so long https://t.co/RHX0t40nqg pic.twitter.com/USSWJusppu
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 5, 2021
VIDEO | Pope Francis will be the first pope to travel to Iraq.
— EWTN Vatican (@EWTNVatican) March 2, 2021
His March 5-8 trip will take him from excavations of biblical sites to churches where Christians suffered terrorist attacks.
He is scheduled to travel 900 miles within Iraq in 3 days. #PopeFrancisinIraq 🇻🇦🇮🇶 pic.twitter.com/CFiFDgTvaw
The pontiff and leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics is expected to travel as many as 900 miles throughout his trip.
The pope said he felt duty-bound to embark on the “emblematic” visit since the country had suffered so much for so long, according to Reuters.
Tomorrow I will go to #Iraq for a three-day pilgrimage. I have long wanted to meet those people who have suffered so much. I ask you to accompany this apostolic journey with your prayers, so it may unfold in the best possible way and bear hoped-for fruits.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 4, 2021
“I am happy to be making trips again,” he told reporters aboard his plane, as the same outlet noted.
Pope Francis is 84.
Related: During Lent, Embracing the Act of Confession
The pope will say Mass at a church in Baghdad. He will also meet the country’s top Shi’ite Muslim cleric in the city of Najaf and will travel as well to Mosul, “where the army had to empty the streets for security reasons last year for a visit by Iraq’s prime minister.”
Mosul is a former stronghold of the Islamic State (ISIS)—“and churches and other buildings there still bear the scars of conflict,” Reuters also pointed out.
Pope Francis is also scheduled to travel to Ur, the birthplace of Abraham.
See these additional tweets with more information.
📹VIDEO: Pope Francis arrived in Baghdad, in the first ever papal visit to Iraq. He will be the first pope to visit the birthplace of Abraham and to celebrate Mass in the Chaldean rite. It is his first trip in over a year. Let's join him in prayer! #PopeFrancisinIraq #PopeInIraq pic.twitter.com/0nVfA1Y1ZM
— EWTN News (@EWTNews) March 5, 2021
Pope Francis prays before the ancient icon of Maria Salus Populi Romani to entrust his Apostolic Journey to Iraq to the protection of Our Lady.https://t.co/1vUYGM2gcP
— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) March 4, 2021
Share your thoughts on this story and other news stories on Christian News Journal’s Facebook page here.
For more news and stories of the day from Christian News Journal, click here.
—By CNJ Staff