Pope Francis (1936-2025). Inspired by peace and love

Pope Francis’s visit to Iraq took place between 5 March and 8 March 2021. The visit was accorded on following an invitation of the Government of Iraq and the Chaldean Catholic Church. The visit is remembered as an attempt to mend bridges between the different faiths in Iraq. During this first ever journey to Iraq by a Pontifex, Pope Francis visited the cities of Ur, Baghdad, Najaf, Qaraqosh, Erbil and Mosul. 

Pope Francis told reporters, when flying back to Rome from Iraq on March 8, 2021, that one of the reasons he became convinced he had to visit the country was after reading Nadia Murad’s memoir, “Last Girl: My Story of Captivity and My Fight Against the Islamic State.” A reporter had given him a copy of the book, he said, and “that book affected me.”