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by Alice FordhamMar, 06 2021
Pope Francis meets with Iraq s leading Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in the city of Najaf, Iraq, on March 6, 2021. Image: Vatican Media/AP
Updated at 1:25 p.m. ET
Pope Francis sought to reinforce ties across religions during the second day of his trip to Iraq, visiting a top Shiite Muslim cleric on Saturday and leading a meeting with representatives of different faiths at the ancient site of Ur in the south of the country.
According to scripture, Ur is the birthplace of Abraham, considered the founder of monotheism and revered by Christians, Muslims and Jews. In a ceremony that gathered a few dozen people next to an excavated part of the ancient city site Iraqis call the House of Abraham, Francis recalled a passage in Genesis where God calls on Abraham to look at the stars and imagine how numerous his descendants will be.
Pope Francis arrives at Baghdad International Airport on Friday for the first-ever papal visit to Iraq. Image: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP via Getty Images
Updated at 2:45 p.m. ET
IRBIL, Iraq Pope Francis has touched down in Iraq for the first-ever papal visit to the predominantly Muslim country, beginning a four-day visit in Baghdad, where yellow and white Vatican flags and likenesses of the pontiff flutter above hastily weeded traffic circles.
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi welcomed Francis at Baghdad International Airport. He was greeted with fanfare as he stepped onto the red carpet, and then by a choir as he entered the airport.