Pope Francis to Visit Iraq, First Apostolic Journey in 15 Months
Arab World
Asharq Al-Awsat
Pope Francis will make the first visit by a pope to Iraq next March, the Vatican said on Monday. Spokesman Matteo Bruni said Francis, who turns 84 next week, will visit the capital Baghdad, as well as Ur, a city linked to the Old Testament figure of Abraham, and Erbil, Mosul, and Qaraqosh in the plain of Nineveh. The trip, at the invitation of the Iraqi government and the local Catholic Church, is planned for March 5-8, Bruni said. “The program of the journey will be made known in due course, and will take into consideration the evolution of the worldwide health emergency,” Bruni said in a statement. It will be the pope’s first overseas trip since November 2019. Trips planned for this year were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Iraqi President Barham Salih said in a post on Twitter that the trip “will be a message of peace to Iraqis of all religions & serve to affirm our common values of justice & dignity.” The Pope’s itinerary will be released at a later date, and will “take into consideration the evolution of the worldwide health emergency.”
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2669286/pope-francis-visit-iraq-first-apostolic-journey-15-months
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