General
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.
Key points:
- The 84-year-old Pope will visit four cities in three days during Iraq’s first papal tour
- Extra security surrounds the trip after a spate of rocket attacks raised fears for his safety
- Iraq has only 250,000 Christians, compared to 1.4 million two decades ago
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…
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