Francis called for a “harmonious coexistence” of people from different backgrounds and cultures while leading a prayer in a square overlooking the ruins of the Catholic church in the old city of Mosul. When it was an ISIS stronghold, the entire city was completely destroyed in 2017, during the nine-month battle for control.
“Here in Mosul, the tragic consequences of war and hostility are all too obvious,” Francis said. “How cruel it is that this country, the cradle of civilization, would have been affected by such a barbaric blow, with ancient places of worship destroyed and many thousands of people – Muslims, Christians, Yazidis and others – displaced or killed by force.”
Thousands died during the battle to retake Mosul from ISIS, which controlled the city between 2014 and 2017.
After leaving Mosul, Francis traveled to Qaraqosh, the largest Christian city in Iraq. Like Mosul, Qaraqosh was also controlled by the terrorist group ISIS for more than two years.
The Pope visited the church of the Immaculate Conception of the city, where he delivered a speech and led a prayer. He was received there by thousands of people, a noticeable difference from his visits to other places in Iraq. The government has imposed a total curfew during the four-day papal visit to minimize health and safety risks.
On Sunday afternoon, the Pope planned to hold a mass at the Franso Hariri Stadium in Erbil, according to Iraqi state television Iraqiya. About 8,000 people have gathered at the stadium to welcome the Pope, security officials told CNN. The plan had been to have a 35,000-seat stadium with 50% capacity with an empty seat between each of the attendees to allow for social distancing, according to officials. However, images of the stadium show strips of stadium stands full of people sitting very close without socially distancing themselves.
Earlier Sunday, Francis met with Nechirvan Barzani, the president of the Kurdish regional government, the semi-autonomous region of northern Iraq.
It is believed that the Pope has long wanted to go to Iraq, which is heavily featured in the Old Testament, and the dwindling Christian minority has suffered greatly from the country’s long cycles of violence.
It was believed to be one of the oldest Christian communities in the world, before the 2003 US invasion, there were 1.5 million Christians in Iraq. About 80% of them have fled, according to major Christian clergy.
He played in Baghdad on Friday, where he was met by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. Francis later met with clergy and other officials at a Baghdad church that was the site of a bloody 2010 massacre.
Francis then returned to Baghdad on Saturday afternoon and celebrated Mass at St. Joseph’s Chaldean Cathedral. He is scheduled to leave Iraq on Monday.
CNN’s Delia Gallagher, Aqeel Najm, Ben Wedeman, Ghazi Balkiz, Hamdi Alkhshali, Mohammed Muwafaq and Ben Westcott contributed to the communication.