Pope Francis walks alongside Iraq's Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhem upon his arrival in Baghdad on March 5, 2021, on the first papal visit to Iraq. Pope Francis began his historic trip to war-scarred Iraq, defying security concerns and the coronavirus pandemic to comfort one of the world's oldest and most persecuted Christian communities. | VINCENZO PINTO/AFP via Getty Images
Pope Francis described his first visit to war-torn Iraq amid a raging pandemic and security concerns as a “pilgrimage of peace,” bringing focus on that country’s dwindling Christian population that suffered mass killings by the Islamic State terror group and a mass exodus.