Pope Francis arrives in Baghdad for historic Iraq visit in first trip since start of coronavirus pandemic

Pope Francis has landed in Baghdad, marking the first time the head of the Catholic church has visited the country, saying he felt duty-bound to make an “emblematic” visit because Iraq had suffered so much for so long.

It is the first papal visit to Iraq and the Pope’s first trip outside Italy since November 2019 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

An Alitalia plane carrying him, his entourage, a security detail and about 75 journalists, touched down at Baghdad International…