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Pope Francis will make the 33rd trip of his pontificate, with the aim of transmitting a message of peace and reconciliation in Iraq, a country confined by the pandemic and affected by years of violence. He left the Vatican on Friday morning (5).
According to analysts, this is Francis’ riskiest journey in his nine years as pope. He traveled under strong security.
VIDEO: The Pope is going to visit Iraq and asks for prayers for a quiet trip
See below what motivates and what difficulties the Pope may face:
What places will the Pope visit?
The pontiff, who has already been vaccinated against Covid-19, will visit Baghdad and Erbil, two cities that have been the scene of rocket attacks against US targets recently.
Member of the Iraqi security forces passes before Pope Francis’ welcome letters to Iraq – Photo: Reuters / Teba Sadiq
Despite the risks, Francisco kept the agenda and declared that he cannot disappoint “for the second time these people”, after recalling the cancellation of the visit in 1999 by John Paul II.
On Saturday, the Pope will visit Ur, a scene with strong spiritual ties, since the area was the cradle of Christianity, the land of the prophet Abraham, father of the three monotheistic religions.
That same day, he will meet in the holy city of Najaf, in the south, with Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, 90, the main authority of the Shiites in Iraq, a gesture in favor of dialogue with all Muslims.
What are the challenges of the trip?
The papal visit is not only a challenge from the religious point of view, but also logistical and health, with a new peak of coronavirus infections of 4,000 daily cases in Iraq.
The Argentine pontiff’s visit to Iraq will be marked by the absence of crowds and will force him to use an armored vehicle on his travels.
Only in the Erbil stadium, with a capacity for 20,000 people, he will speak before 4,000 faithful at Sunday mass, according to local sources.
The pontiff also has a stopover scheduled for Mosul, which was a stronghold of extremists from the Islamic State (IS) group.
What message does the Pope want to bring to Iraqis?
Pope Francis confirms visit to Iraq and asks for prayers that the trip goes well
Pope Francis has already sent an emotional message to Iraqis in advance, in which he advocates reconciliation in this land, the cradle of religions, affected by years of violence and wars.
“I go as a pilgrim […] Ask the Lord for forgiveness and reconciliation after years of war and terrorism. […] and I go among you as a pilgrim of peace ”, he declared.
“I hope to meet them, see their faces, visit their ancestral and extraordinary land, the cradle of civilization,” said the Argentine pontiff, who wants to fulfill the dream of Pope John Paul II, who could not travel to Iraq.
“I go as a pilgrim of peace in search of brotherhood, moved by the desire to pray together and walk together also with brothers and sisters of other religions,” he stressed, referring to a predominantly Muslim country, where the few Christians who managed to remain still suffering threats and attacks.
In his message, Francis addresses Muslims, Jews and Christians as “a family” and encourages them to “move on”, who do not give up, to rebuild and heal wounds.
“To you Christians, Muslims; to you, peoples like the Yazidis, who have suffered so much; to all of you. I go to his blessed and wounded land as a pilgrim of hope ”, he explained.
