Pope Francis walked through a narrow alley in Iraq's holy city of Najaf for a historic meeting with the country's top Shiite cleric, and together they delivered a powerful message of peaceful coexistence in a country still reeling from back-to-back conflicts over the past decade.
In a gesture both simple and profound, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani welcomed Francis into his spartan home. Afterward, he said religious authorities have a role in protecting Iraq's Christians, and that Christians should live in peace and enjoy the same rights as other Iraqis.
The Vatican said Francis thanked al-Sistani for having raised his voice in defence of the weakest and most persecuted during some of the most violent times in Iraq's recent history. Al-Sistani, 90, is one of the most senior clerics in Shiite Islam, and his rare but powerful political interventions have helped shape present-day Iraq.