2021 Visit by Pope Francis to Iraq

Pope Francis's visit to Iraq took place between 5 March and 8 March 2021. The visit was accorded on following an invitation of the Government of Iraq and the Chaldean Catholic Church. The visit was remembered as an attempt to mend bridges between the different faiths in Iraq. During this first ever journey to Iraq by a Pontifex, Pope Francis visited the cities of Ur, Baghdad, Najaf, Qaraqosh, Erbil and Mosul.

Upon his arrival at the Baghdad International Airport, the pope was welcomed by the Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Khadimi. Two children in traditional dresses presented flowers and a military band accompanied the prime minister. Then, he entered Baghdad, where his arrival was announced on billboards and the Flags of Iraq and the Vatican flying jointly side by side. When he met the Iraqi president Barham Salih at the Presidential Palace in Baghdad who gave him a welcome gift of a replica from a work of Mohammed Ghani Hikmat depicting the Passion of Jesus before his crucifixion. He then addressed the Iraqi population through a televised speech acknowledging the importance of Iraq as a cradle of civilisations.

On 8 March 2021, Pope Francis left Iraq from Baghdad after he met with Iraqi President Barham Salih during a farewell ceremony.

Influence

In Iraq, the 6 March has been declared as a "Day of Tolerance and Coexistence" by the Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi, commemorating the encounter between the Shia cleric Ali Al-Sistani and Pope Francis. Upon the depart of Pope Francis, Cardinal Louis Raphaël I Sako announced the pope donated the sum of $350,000 to the Iraqi people of which $250,000 were to be distributed by the Chaldean Church of Baghdad, $50,000 by the Chaldean Catholic Church in Mosul and the remainder by the Syrian Catholic Church which includes also Qaraqosh.Besides the Cardinal has delivered several propositions concerning the enhancement of education, intercultural tolerance and the protection of the holy sites as described in the Iraqi Penal Code in April 2021.

Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_visit_by_Pope_Francis_to_Iraq