ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Pope Francis met with Iraqi foreign minister Fuad Hussein at the Vatican on Monday, Vatican media has reported.
“Pope Francis recalled with gratitude the welcome he received during his recent journey to Iraq,” Vatican News said, adding that the meeting lasted around 30 minutes.
The pontiff visited Iraq in March, becoming the first pope to ever visit the country, travelling from Baghdad to Najaf, Nasiriyah, Mosul, the Nineveh Plains and Erbil.
The pope also “addressed an affectionate greeting to Iraq and to all its people, reiterating his hope that all people may ‘grow in solidarity and in the ability to acknowledge themselves as responsible for the vulnerabilities of others’” said Vatican News.
During his visit to Iraq, the Catholic leader met with top Iraqi and Kurdish officials, also holding mass in Baghdad, Erbil and the war-torn city of Mosul.
The number of Christians in Iraq is currently estimated at 300,000, down from 1.5 million before 2003, according to Erbil's Chaldean Archbishop Warda.
Following his trip, the pontiff called on Iraqi Christians to “keep the faith” and “return home if possible,” and spoke of the warm welcome he received in the Kurdistan Region, where the majority of Iraq’s Christians now live.
