Pope Francis Concludes Historic Iraq Visit

Pope Francis began his historic trip to Iraq on Friday (05.03.21). It was the first visit to be made by a Pontiff to Iraq, a region often labeled ‘the birthplace of the Eastern Church’.   During the highly-symbolic visit, Pope Francis met the Christian communities of Baghdad, Mosul and Qaraqosh. 

Whilst in Baghdad, he told Iraqi Christians that when they suffer discrimination, persecution, or war, the Eight Beatitudes are addressed to them.

‘Whatever the world takes from us is nothing compared to the tender and patient love with which the Lord fulfills his promises,’ the pope told the congregation at the Chaldean Catholic Cathedral of St. Joseph on 6th March.

‘Dear sister, dear brother, perhaps when you look at your hands, they seem empty, perhaps you feel disheartened and unsatisfied by life,” he said in his homily. “If so, do not be afraid: The beatitudes are for you — for you who are afflicted, who hunger and thirst for justice, who are persecuted. The Lord promises you that your name is written on his heart, written in heaven!’

Embrace friend and partner The Chaldean Catholic archbishop of Irbil spoke to BBC World News about what the Pope’s visit meant to him and the Christian community in the country.

Christianity in Iraq is complex. Embrace the Middle East has a long history in the region, but a much shorter one in Iraq, having formed our first partnership in 2019, and our partnerships now span the five church families of Eastern Orthodox, ‘Oriental’ Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant and, now, the Church of the East.

Such diversity stems from disagreements that took place in the early days of the church. This is understandable in a region where the position of Christianity is so precarious.

Indeed, Christians in Iraq have faced many challenges over the years, culminating in the horrific violence committed against minorities by the Islamic State group. This has contributed to a catastrophic decline in the number of Christians living in Iraq since the turn of the century.  

The Pope also met some of the 150,000 Christian refugees from central Iraq who fled to Erbil, in the North of the country, and where both of Embrace’s Iraqi Partners - CAPNI (in Duhok) and the Chaldean Archdiocese of Erbil - are situated. 

The four-day trip was the Pope’s first foreign excursion since the outbreak of the Covid-19 Pandemic.  

Learn more about the Pope’s visit and see pictures from his time in Iraq here.