Pope Visits Islamic State Iraq in March… First overseas schedule after Corona 19

-Pope Francis will visit Iraq, an Islamic state, in March next year. This is the first overseas schedule since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) emerged.

According to the AP, Vatican Spokesman Matteo Bruni said on March 7 (local time) that Pope Francis will visit Iraq on March 5-8 next year to visit the capitals of Baghdad, Erbil, Mosul, and Karakosh.

Erbil is the main residence of the Kurds, and is also a mixture of Trukmen and Christians. Mosul is a densely populated area of ​​Islamic Sunni, and Christians live in Karakosh.

The Holy See said the Pope had accepted invitations from the Iraqi government and local Catholic churches. The specific schedule will be announced later in consideration of the development of the Corona 19 crisis, the first time the Pope has visited Japan and Thailand in November 2019. After the outbreak of Corona 19 and spreading all over the world this year, it was inevitable that the Pope’s schedule was also disrupted. At the time, the Pope emphasized that he hoped that Iraq could build a peaceful future by pursuing the common good without falling into hostilities caused by conflict.

Pope John Paul II, who passed away, also promoted a visit to Iraq in 1999, but the dictator, former President Saddam Hussein, delayed the schedule and did not succeed.

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