In less than two decades, Iraq’s Christian community
shrunk from more than 1.5 million to a few hundred thousand. War, bloodshed, persecution ands economic stagnation forced most of the community to seek a new future abroad.
On Friday, Pope Francis plans to shine a light on one of the most diverse and longstanding Christian communities in the world as he embarks on a historic pilgrimage across the country.
Iraq, a Muslim majority country of just more than 40 million, has 14 registered Christian sects from a range of churches, but Chaldeans and other Catholic denominations make up about half of the 400,000-strong community. Armenian Orthodox and Protestant make up a sizeable proportion