The 88-year-old Pope was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital last week after being diagnosed with pneumonia, according to his office.
“I wish His Holiness Pope Francis a swift recovery and continued good health. His message of peace, compassion, and unity continues to inspire people around the world. May he regain his strength soon and continue his invaluable service to humanity,” President Barzani wrote on X on Thursday.
The Vatican confirmed on Wednesday that the Pope’s condition is stable.
“The Holy Father's clinical condition is stationary. The blood tests, evaluated by the medical staff, show a slight improvement, particularly in the inflammatory indices,” read a statement from the Vatican. It also noted that the Pope had read some newspapers after breakfast, worked with his “closest collaborators,” and spoke privately for 20 minutes with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Pope Francis made a historic visit to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region in March 2021, where he visited several cities across the country and held a mass for 10,000 people in Erbil.
During his visit, the Pontiff expressed solidarity with the victims of the January 2024 ballistic missile attack on Erbil by Iran, which killed several people. The attack was carried out under the pretext of targeting “spy headquarters” of anti-Iran groups, a claim Kurdish and Iraqi authorities have staunchly denied.
President Barzani and the Pope have met several times.
In April 2023, Barzani visited the Vatican and met the Pontiff who then “praised the culture of peaceful coexistence and acceptance among religious and ethnic communities” in the Kurdistan Region, according to a statement by the Kurdistan Region Presidency. The Pope also called for safeguarding the Region.
For his part, President Barzani then reaffirmed his commitment to promoting peace and coexistence in the Kurdistan Region and elsewhere. As a gesture of appreciation, the President gifted the Pope a painting by Kurdish artist Khairy Adam.
The artwork depicted people from the different ethnic and religious groups in the Kurdistan Region performing the traditional Kurdish dance of “Halparke, with a mosque, a monastery, and a Yazidi temple in the background, symbolizing the depth of the brotherly relations between the Kurdistan Region’s various communities.
