Pope Francis in Iraq Archives

Pope gives $350,000 to help suffering Iraqi families

Mar 31, 2021

Before returning to Rome from Iraq March 8, Pope Francis left $350,000 to assist families still suffering the impact of conflict or in dire straits because of the economic crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, said Cardinal Louis Sako, the Baghdad-based patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church.

By Catholic News Service

Iraqi woman who met the pope sees little chance for change

Mar 12, 2021

The story of Doha Sabah Abdallah’s personal tragedy and loss deeply resonated with Pope Francis during his historic visit last weekend to the northern Iraqi town of Qaraqosh, once devastated by Islamic State group militants.

By Samya Kullab

Iraqi Catholic leader calls Pope Francis’s trip a ‘miracle’

Mar 8, 2021

Although the impact of papal trips is often hard to assess in the immediate aftermath, such cautions mean little to the leader of Iraq’s local Catholic church, who quickly proclaimed Pope Francis’s March 5-8 visit to his nation a “miracle” on Sunday.

By Inés San Martín

Ahead of Pope visit, survivor recalls Iraq church massacre

Mar 4, 2021

It began like any other Sunday in the Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad for worshipper Louis Climis. That day nearly 11 years ago would end with blood-stained pews, anguish and lives lost.

By Samya Kullab

Despite risks, Iraqis want Pope Francis to go ahead with visit

Mar 4, 2021

Pope Francis is set to become the first pontiff to set a foot in Iraq on Friday, when he lands in Baghdad after a four-hour trip from Rome.

By Inés San Martín

Pope’s risky Iraq trip aims to boost Christians

Mar 3, 2021

Pope Francis is pushing ahead with the first papal trip to Iraq despite rising coronavirus infections, hoping to encourage the country’s dwindling number of Christians who were violently persecuted during the Islamic State’s insurgency while seeking to boost ties with the Shiite Muslim world.

By Nicole Winfield

U.S. Chaldean Catholics hope pope’s Iraq trip brings peace, reconciliation

Mar 3, 2021

The 1,200 Chaldean Catholic families who live in Arizona are thousands of miles from the land of their birth. On March 5, their hearts will turn toward their native Iraq.

By Joyce Coronel

Intense preparation paves way for pontiff to meet ayatollah

Mar 3, 2021

In Iraq’s holiest city, a pontiff will meet a revered ayatollah and make history with a message of coexistence in a place plagued by bitter divisions.

By Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Samya Kullab