Pope Francis to meet Iraq s top Shia cleric on March visit
29.01.2021
Pope Francis is set for an historic meeting with Iraq s top Shia Muslim cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, during a trip to Iraq planned for March, the patriarch of Iraq s Chaldean Catholic Church said on Thursday.
The visit, which eluded Francis s predecessors, takes place amid deteriorating security in some parts of Iraq and after the first big suicide bombing in Baghdad for three years.
The programme for the March 5-8 trip, announced at a news conference by Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako, who is a Catholic cardinal and head of Iraq s biggest Christian denomination, will include Masses in Baghdad and the northern city of Erbil.
Pope Francis to meet Iraq s top cleric on March visit tribune.com.pk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from tribune.com.pk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
January 26, 2021
CWN Editor s Note: Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako of the Chaldean Catholic Church has announced a 3-day prayer campaign for peace and security in Iraq, following a suicide bombing in Baghdad. The Iraqi prelate urged fasting and prayer for the “Resurrection of Nineveh,” alluding to the story of Jonah and to the status of the Nineveh plains as a region traditionally populated by the Christian minority.
The above note supplements, highlights, or corrects details in the original source (link above). About CWN news coverage.
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