Vatican City
Pope Francis will make the first visit by a pope to Iraq from March 5 to March 8 next year, the Vatican said on Monday. This is a risky trip that has eluded his predecessors. Spokesman Matteo Bruni said Francis, who turns 84 next week, will visit the capital Baghdad, Ur, a city linked to the Old Testament figure of Abraham, as well as Erbil, Mosul and Qaraqosh in the plain of Nineveh. “The programme of the journey will be made known in due course, and will take into consideration the evolution of the worldwide health emergency,” Bruni said in statement. Francis had hoped to make a trip this year but his plans were cancelled first by security concerns and then by the Coronavirus pandemic. It will be Francis’ first trip in more than a year. All overseas visits that had been planned for this year were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.—Agencies
