Archbishop of Erbil: Papal visit is a gift for all Iraqi people
Chaldean Archbishop Bashar Matti Warda of Erbil is calling for prayers for the papal visit and expresses his hopes for positive outcomes. He will welcome the Pope on Sunday when he arrives in the northern autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan.
By Thaddeus Jones & Sr. Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp
Pope Francis will be visiting the Christian communities throughout Iraq, and especially the large ones in the north of the country. The Archdiocese of Erbil hosts the largest community of displaced Iraqi Christians. The communities have ancient roots going back almost two thousand years. They have suffered enormously during the years of war and occupation.
Vincenzo Pinto/AFP via Getty Images
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Pope Francis arrives at Baghdad International Airport on Friday for the first-ever papal visit to Iraq. 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.
I Come As A Pilgrim : Pope Francis Begins Historic Visit To Iraq – Nation & World News wuft.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wuft.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Vida Hanna, director of public and international relations at The Catholic University in Erbil, who is coordinating Pope Francis March 7 Mass in Erbil. Credit: Alejandro Bermudez/CNA.
Erbil, Iraq, Mar 5, 2021 / 11:19 am (CNA).- When Vida Hanna was told by the Archbishop Bashar Warda of the Chaldean Archeparchy of Erbil that Pope Francis was coming to Iraq, she thought to herself it was just another rumor.
Growing up in the Chaldean Catholic community in Erbil, Hanna, 27, was a little girl when there were rumors that St. John Paul II was planning to come to Iraq for the Jubilee 2000.
“But once I saw the official announcement from the Vatican, I knew this time it was for real,” she told CNA from her office at the Catholic University in Erbil.
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.