Pope Francis’ historic Apostolic Journey to Iraq, March 5-8, 2021

By Robert Ewan

On March 5, 2021, an unusual Alitalia flight, number AZ4000, named “Giotto” after the fourteenth-century painter, landed at Baghdad International Airport, marking the historic first-ever papal visit to Iraq. It was Pope Francis’ first overseas trip since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 Seventy-five journalists from all nations accompanied Pope Francis, almost double the number normally allowed on a papal flight. The Pontiff insisted on making the trip to Iraq despite the growing number of cases of the COVID-19 virus in Iraq and concerns over his security. Over the course of his visit, the Pope presided over half a dozen services in ravaged churches, stadiums, and remote desert locations. Pope Francis covered more than 870 miles, sometimes flying over areas where Iraqi forces were still battling with Islamic State remnants.

 

During his gruelling schedule, the Holy Father met with several religious figures and visited places of faith and suffering, bowing in tribute to the victims who had died and embracing those who had survived.

 

In a speech after being welcomed by the Iraqi president, Pope Francis said he was pleased to come to Iraq, which he described as the “cradle of civilisation”. He added: “May the clash of arms be silenced. May there be an end to acts of violence and extremism, to factions, and to intolerance.” He added: “If God is the God of life — for so He is — then it is wrong for us to kill our brothers and sisters in His name. If God is the God of peace — for so He is — then it is wrong for us to wage war in His name. If God is the God of love — for so He is — then it is wrong for us to hate our brothers and sisters.”

 

In the evening, the Pope met Iraqi patriarchs, bishops, and representatives of the country’s priests and religious institutions in the renovated Syriac Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of Salvation. Forty-eight members of this church, along with two priests and a 3-year-old child, had died on October 31, 2010, when militants belonging to a group linked to al-Qaida stormed the cathedral, detonating explosives and shooting people. In his speech he said:

“This is a church hallowed by the blood of our brothers and sisters murdered in a terrorist attack that shook the world. The memory of Iraq’s Christian martyrs must inspire us to renew our own trust in the power of the Cross and its saving message of forgiveness, reconciliation, and rebirth.”

 

On March 6, Pope Francis visited Najaf (about 100 miles south of Baghdad). The city is the epicentre of Shia Islam. He met with Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, spiritual leader of Iraq’s Shiite Muslims — the first face-to-face meeting between a Catholic pontiff and a Shiite ayatollah. The ayatollah is a highly reclusive figure who rarely accepts visitors; Sistani made an exception to host Francis at his humble home. They released a joint statement against religious extremism. The meeting was described as milestone for relations between the Catholic Church and Shia Islam.

 

Afterwards, Pope Francis headed to the desert site of Ur, the birthplace of Abraham, where he held an interfaith service. More than 6,000 years ago, Ur emerged as one of the world’s first main urban centres. Throughout history, Ur has been considered one of the most important archaeological sites in the world. In July 2016, UNESCO placed it on the World Heritage list.

 

“From this place, where faith was born, from the land of Our Father Abraham, let us affirm that God is merciful and that the greatest blasphemy is to profane His name by hating our brothers and sisters,” the Pope said. “Hostility, extremism, and violence are not born of a religious heart: They are betrayals of religion; the journey of peace begins with the decision not to have enemies.” He concluded his speech by saying:

“I come as a pilgrim, a penitent pilgrim to implore forgiveness and reconciliation from the Lord. I come as a pilgrim of peace in the name of Christ, the Prince of Peace.”

In the evening he returned to Baghdad, where he held a mass at the Chaldean Cathedral of Saint Joseph. This was the first time that Pope Francis had delivered a liturgy according to the eastern Catholic rite.

 

On Sunday, March 7, 2021 Pope Francis flew from Baghdad to Erbil (northern Iraq), where he was welcomed by the President and the Prime Minister of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan, as well as by civil and religious authorities. Later in the day, Pope Francis flew to Mosul by helicopter. He was visibly moved by the earthquake-like devastation around him. He prayed for all the city’s dead. In Mosul’s Church Square, which is surrounded by the ruined churches of four different Christian faiths — Syrian Orthodox, Syrian Catholic, Chaldean, and Armenian Orthodox — he held a mass and prayed for fraternity between the different religions in Iraq.

 

He sat surrounded by skeletons of buildings, dangling concrete staircases, and cratered ancient churches, most too dangerous to enter. He recited a prayer repeating one of the main themes of his trip, that it is always wrong to hate, kill, or wage war in God’s name. With the Islamic State gone and work underway to restore Mosul’s damaged churches and mosques, Pope Francis proclaimed: “Today we reaffirm our conviction that fraternity is more durable than fratricide, that hope is more powerful than hatred, that peace is more powerful than war.” He added:

“Our gathering here today shows that terrorism and death never have the last word. The last word belongs to God and to His Son, the conqueror of sin and death; even amid the ravages of terrorism and war, we can see, with the eyes of faith, the triumph of life over death.”

 

Pope Francis flew by helicopter from Mosul to Qaraqosh, where large crowds lined the roads of the city to welcome him. Women clutched their rosaries and wiped away their tears of joy. A parish priest grabbed a traditional brown and white scarf and danced in the street. Pope Francis held mass at the Syriac Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception. He reminded the congregation of his conviction: “The last word belongs to God and to His Son, the conqueror of sin and death. Even amid the ravages of terrorism and war, we can see, with the eyes of faith, the triumph of life over death.” He added:

“This is the time to restore not just buildings but also the bonds of community that unite communities and families, the young and the old together.”

Daesh militants had stormed the historical town of Qaraqosh (also known as Hamdaniya), some 30 kilometres east of Mosul, on August 7, 2014, expelling its 50,000-strong Christian population, tearing down crosses, burning ancient manuscripts, and desecrating its precious religious architecture, including the Church of the Immaculate Conception, which they turned into a firing range. The arrival of Pope Francis now offered Qaraqosh a keen sense of spiritual renewal, but also a moment for sad reflection on its traumatic recent experiences.

 

Today, 23,000 people have already returned. The remainder mostly live in Australia, the United States, Sweden, France, and Germany. The pope brought with him back to Iraq a 500-year-old Aramean prayer book that had been taken from the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Qaraqosh and brought to Italy after ISIL captured the city. The book was restored under the auspices of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage in Italy.

 

Later that day, he celebrated mass for 10,000 people in a football stadium in Erbil, capital of the northern autonomous region of Kurdistan. He blessed a statue of Mary that had been repaired after being destroyed by Islamic State. Never in Erbil had 10,000 people all been transported to a single place in such an orderly fashion at one time. At the end of the mass, Pope Francis told the crowd: “Iraq will always remain with me, in my heart.” He concluded by saying: “Salam, salam, salam” (peace, peace, peace) in Arabic.

“Salam, salam, salam”

Afterwards, Pope Francis returned to Baghdad, and on the morning of March 8, he left Iraq, after he had met Iraqi president Barham Salih at a farewell ceremony. Once in Rome, he told reporters:

“I stopped in front of the destroyed churches and I just didn’t have any words. It is something you cannot believe; you cannot believe it. It is just unbelievable, our human cruelty.”

 

Since the US-led invasion in 2003, the Christian population of Iraq fell from around 1.5 million to around 200,000. There is a deep sense of bitterness among many of Iraq’s Christians, who believe that their government has ignored them. The suffering of Iraqi Christians will continue for as long as there is an Islamic constitution that does not safeguard their basic human rights.

 

Reflecting on Pope Francis’ visit to Iraq, Cardinal Louis Raphael I Sako, head of the Chaldean Catholic Church, said: “The pope spoke with his heart, showing real interest in the Iraqi people. He freely chose to stay three days here and share their suffering and hope with them.” He added: “He delivered a message of comfort and peace that was so powerful. Many Muslims, including some high-ranking local politicians, approached me during the visit and said, you have a treasure, a father so humble, who listens to and loves people.”