Pope Francis travels to Iraq, despite Corona, war and crises.
With his trip abroad in the middle of the corona pandemic, the head of the Catholics is writing history.
Baghdad - Historic Pope visit to Iraq, torn by war and crises: Pope Francis was the first head of the Catholics to travel to Baghdad on Friday.
He was received by Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi at the Iraqi capital's international airport.
The Pope's first trip abroad since the beginning of the corona pandemic is subject to the strictest security measures.
As a “pilgrim of peace”, the 84-year-old wants to encourage the Christian minority in the predominantly Muslim Iraq and call for the religions to come together.
Pope Francis travels to Iraq as a "pilgrim of peace"
He was happy to be able to travel again, said the Pope to the journalists traveling on the flight from Rome to Baghdad.
He described his visit to Baghdad as a "duty" to the country that had been tormented for many years.
In a video message the day before his departure, Francis had announced that he was coming to Iraq as a “pilgrim of peace”.
He called on the followers of the various religions in the country to “shape a peaceful future together”.
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Pope visiting Iraq: a gust of wind blows Pope Francis' coat up at the reception at the airport in Baghdad.
© Andrew Medichini / afp
The Christian community in Iraq is one of the oldest and most diverse in the world and includes Chaldean, Assyrian, Syrian Orthodox, and Syrian Catholic Christians, as well as Protestants, among others.
Around 1.5 million Christians lived in Iraq at the beginning of the 2000s, today there are only about 400,000.
In the past 20 years, many of their fellow believers have fled war, religiously motivated attacks and, in particular, Islamist violence.
Iraq is currently experiencing the second corona wave
Iraq is currently experiencing a second corona wave with more than 5000 new infections per day.
A curfew was imposed in the country during the Pope's visit.
"I'll try to follow the instructions and not shake hands with everyone, but I don't want to be too far away," said Francis before landing in Baghdad.
Pope Francis wants to cover 1,400 kilometers
The Pope's visit poses major challenges for the Iraqi security forces.
It was not until Wednesday that a civilian US military employee died in a missile attack on a military base in western Iraq used by the US.
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry assured that strict security precautions had been taken "on the ground and in the air" to ensure a smooth visit by the Pope.
The 84-year-old church leader has planned an extensive travel program.
However, the Pope, who is always looking for closeness to the faithful, has to do without bathing in the crowd.
By Monday, Francis will have covered more than 1,400 kilometers in Iraq, mostly by helicopter and plane.
He will also fly over areas in which cells of the jihadist militia Islamic State (IS) are still active.
The Pope will cover shorter distances in an armored car.
The roads on the route were freshly paved and decorated with posters welcoming the Catholic head of the church.
Pope's visit to Iraq: that's on the program
On Friday, after a reception in the presidential palace, the Pope plans to meet bishops, priests and religious in the Syrian Catholic Cathedral in Baghdad, which was the target of a jihadist attack in 2010 that left dozens of dead.
A meeting of the Pope with the influential Shiite leader Ayatollah Ali Sistani in Najaf, an interfaith meeting in Ur and a mass in Baghdad are planned for Saturday.
On Sunday the Pope wants to pray in Mosul for the war victims in Iraq.
The city on the Nineveh Plain was overrun by IS in 2014, as were large areas in the north and in the center of Iraq.
The reign of terror by the extremists drove the majority of local Christians to flight.
On Sunday afternoon, the Pope will travel to Erbil in the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq.
There he wants to celebrate a mass in a stadium with thousands of believers.
(AFP)
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List of rubric lists: © Andrew Medichini / afp