Despite Covid-19’s twin threats and terrorism, the first papal visit to Iraq is due to start on Friday, during which Francis will meet with besieged Christian communities and one of the most influential Muslim leaders in the world.
For Pope Francis, 84, this will be his first trip abroad in 15 months, as the pandemic has restricted his movements. Covid’s new restrictions went into effect in Iraq last week, with overnight curfews and a total three-day block on weekends, as daily reported cases doubled in less than a week.
All members of the papal entourage will be vaccinated against the virus before departure, and social distancing and wearing masks will be required at events.
The Iraqi government promised high security during the three-day visit to six cities. Although bombings and other violent attacks have declined in recent years, at least 32 people have been killed and more than 100 injured in a double suicide bombing in a Baghdad market last month.
“The visit carries risks, and the Pope runs the risks because he sees himself as a pastor, as a father, as one who goes to those who are in difficulty. As for security, I believe that the Iraqi government will take all measures to ensure that the visit is smooth, ”Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches of the Vatican, told America magazine.
Pope Francis’ 33rd visit abroad in his eight years at the head of the Roman Catholic Church will begin in Baghdad with a ceremony at the presidential palace and a meeting with President Barham Salih and Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. The pontiff will also meet with bishops, priests and others in the Syro-Catholic cathedral of Nossa Senhora da Salvação.
On Saturday, he will travel south to the holy city of Najaf to meet the Great Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the influential 90-year-old Shiite Muslim cleric. In recent years, Francis has built solid relationships with Muslim leaders.
In February 2019, Francis and Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the great imam of Cairo’s al-Azhar mosque and the leading figure of Sunni Islam, signed a historic declaration of brotherhood in Abu Dhabi.
For the small Christian community in Iraq, the highlight of the trip will be Francisco’s visit to the north of the country. Thousands of Christians in the area were killed under the rule of the Islamic State between 2014 and 2017, and hundreds of thousands more fled their homes due to violence and persecution.
Francis will visit the cities of Erbil, Mosul and Qaraqosh to find people who are now trying to rebuild their communities and churches. In Mosul, the pope will pray at a memorial for the victims of Islamic State, and in Qaraqosh, he will visit the Cathedral of Santa Maria al-Tahira, which is being renovated after looting and damage by Islamic State fighters.
In Erbil, a mass is scheduled to take place in a football stadium, where numbers will be limited and the contacts of all those present will be taken.
“He is face to face to show us that he cares about us,” Archbishop Bashar Matti Warda, who leads the Chaldean Catholic community in Erbil, told the National Catholic Reporter.
Thousands of Christian refugees have fled to Erbil, where they have been given shelter, said Warda. “We learned from this experience about sharing, generosity. The wickedness of Isis limited part of the community’s life, but God opened other doors with love and generosity. “
According to Sandi, Francisco wants to “bring comfort, closeness, fraternity, openness, friendship to this people that suffered so much and to the Catholic Church and the Catholic Christians of this land who suffered in a way that left them decimated. “
Francis will return to Rome on Monday, March 8.