Pope hopes Iraq visit will bring peace, coexistence: video message

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Pope Francis hopes his upcoming visit to Iraq will bring peace and coexistence in the country, he said in a video message sent to Rudaw English and other media outlets.

"Dear Christian brothers and sisters, who have testified of your faith in Jesus in the midst of extremely hard situations, I eagerly long to see you...I come to you bearing hope of peace, and hope for fraternity and coexistence," he said on Wednesday.

“I am motivated by the desire to pray together and walk together with brothers and sisters from other religious traditions as well, under the vision of our father Abraham, who unites Muslims, Jews, and Christians in one family,” the pontiff added.

The Pope specifically addressed Iraq’s Yazidi minority, who suffered significantly at the hands of the Islamic State (ISIS).

“I have thought about the Yazidis who have struggled a lot. We are all brothers,” he said.

Pope Francis is set to arrive at Baghdad International Airport on Friday afternoon.

This will be the first papal visit to Iraq, and comes at a time when only a few hundred thousand Christians are left in the country.

Following the US-led invasion of 2003, sectarian warfare prompted followers of Iraq’s multiple Christian denominations to flee and attacks by ISIS in 2014 further hit all minority communities.

According to data provided to Rudaw English by Erbil’s Chaldean Archbishop Warda  on Wednesday, there were more than one million Christians in Iraq before 2003. Less than 300,000 remain today.

Pope Francis is to meet top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani during his planned visit to Najaf on March 6, and hold mass in Erbil’s Franso Hariri Stadium on March 7 after visits to Mosul and Qaraqosh. He will also visit the Plain of Ur - birthplace of Abraham.