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The chronicles recount that, while praying in the little dilapidated church of San Damiano, Saint Francis of Assisi heard a voice: “Francis, go repair my church, which as you can see is in ruin.” Like his namesake saint, Pope Francis will travel to Iraq from 5 to 8 March on a double-repair mission: shoring up the Iraqi Church, marred by years of violence and suffering, and strengthening the foundations of interfaith dialogue.
Still, the Pope is going to Iraq not just to repair, but principally to continue building on the doctrinal and geopolitical grand design of his pontificate. Apostolic journeys are a key instrument for Popes to bring public and classical diplomacy together by mobilising Catholic masses and attracting non-Catholic people and elites, and then converting social kinetics into political influence, both in the national and international arenas. For this reason, Papal travelling has a major impact on the political dynamics of the countries and the geopolitics of th