Historical papal visit: Pope Francis is the first Catholic leader ever to visit Iraq. War and the Corona-pandemic could not stop the Catholic leader from travelling to the crises-ridden country. With his visit Pope Francis wants to encourage Iraqi Christians to stay. Whether he will succeed in his mission is doubtful. 07/03/2021 This article was translated by Syriacpress . By Alfred Hackensberger Correspondent for Die Welt The papal plane from Rome landed at exactly 2pm. on Friday at Baghdad airport. Iraqi Prime Minister Mustapha al-Kadhimi waited on the red carpet to receive Pope Francis and lead him to the VIP lounge for the official welcome ceremony. From there, the motorcade drove through the Iraqi capital. From a bulletproof BMW Pope Francis greeted the cheering people standing on the roads. First stop was the presidential palace of head of state Barham Salih. A flock of doves of peace rose to the sky. A military band was playing. Men in white kaftans and drawn sabers stoo
