Pope Francis landed this Friday, March 5 at 11:55 a.m. French time in Baghdad, beginning the first visit of a sovereign pontiff to Iraq and his very first trip abroad since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, noted a AFP journalist.
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I'm happy to resume traveling
" after 15 months without travel, said the Argentine pope on board the plane.
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And this emblematic trip has been a duty to a martyr land for so many years,
" he added on the first of the three-day visit to Iraq.