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Pope's trip to Iraq now has official program

The program for the Holy Father's March 5-8 apostolic journey to Iraq has been made public, with visits to Najaf, Ur, Erbil, Mosul and Qaraqosh. Francis will deliver four speeches, two homilies and a prayer of suffrage for the victims of the war.

David Fernández Alonso-February 8, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes

The Pope's trip to Iraq is a manifestation of, as he said this morning in the audience with the Diplomatic Corps, "an important aspect of the solicitude of the Successor of Peter for the People of God spread throughout the world", as well as "a favorable opportunity to deepen, in a spirit of exchange and dialogue, the relationship between the different religions".

The Pope's visit to the country will include meetings with political authorities and civil society, as well as with bishops, priests, religious and seminarians. On Saturday 6, there will be a intercollegiate meeting on the Ur PlainHe will conclude the day with a Eucharistic celebration at the Chaldean Cathedral of St. Joseph in Baghdad.

On Sunday, March 7, the Pontiff has several appointments. The Pope will travel to Iraqi Kurdistan and the Nineveh Plains. He will visit Erbil and Mosul, a city for years in the hands of the self-styled Islamic State, where there will be a prayer of suffrage for the victims of the war in Hosh al-Bieaa, the church square.

That same morning he will visit Qaraqosh, in the Nineveh Plains, a few kilometers from Mosul, occupied by the Islamic State until 2016. Francis will visit the church of the "Immaculate Conception" to visit the community of Qaraqosh, to whom he will address a speech, and then pray the Marian prayer of the Angelus.

In the afternoon, the Pope will return to Erbil to celebrate Holy Mass at the "Franso Hariri" Stadium. At the end of the celebration, Francis will return to Baghdad, from where he will leave for Rome on Monday morning at the end of the farewell ceremony.

Official program

Friday, March 5, 2021

ROME - BAGHDAD

Tomorrow

Departure by air from Rome/Fiumicino international airport to Baghdad

Afternoon

Arrival at Baghdad International Airport

Official reception at Baghdad International Airport

Meeting with the Prime Minister in the VIP lounge at Baghdad international airport

Official welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Baghdad

Courtesy visit to the President of the Republic in the private study of the Presidential Palace in Baghdad

Meeting with the authorities, civil society and the diplomatic corps in the hall of the Presidential Palace in Baghdad.

Address of the Holy Father

Meeting with bishops, priests, religious, seminarians and catechists  in the Syro-Catholic cathedral of "Our Lady of Salvation" in Baghdad.

Address of the Holy Father

Saturday, March 6, 2021

BAGHDAD - NAJAF - UR - BAGHDAD

Tomorrow

Departure by plane to Najaf

Arrival at Najaf airport

Courtesy visit to Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Al-Husaymi Al-Sistani in Najaf

Departure by plane to Nassiriya

Arrival at Nassiriya airport

Interreligious meeting in the Ur Plain

Address of the Holy Father

Departure by plane to Baghdad

Arrival at Baghdad International Airport

Afternoon

Holy Mass in the Chaldean cathedral of "St. Joseph" in Baghdad

Homily of the Holy Father

Sunday, March 7, 2021

BAGHDAD - ERBIL - MOSUL - QARAQOSH - ERBIL - BAGHDAD

Tomorrow

Departure by plane to Erbil

Arrival at Erbil airport

Welcome of the religious and civil authorities of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan at the Presidential VIP Lounge of Erbil Airport.

Departure by helicopter to Mosul

Arrival at Mosul landing field

Prayer of suffrage for war victims in Hosh al-Bieaa (Church Square) in Mosul

Prayer of the Holy Father

Departure by helicopter to Qaraqosh

Arrival at Qaraqosh landing field

Visit to the Qaraqosh community in the Church of the "Immaculate Conception" in Qaraqosh

Address of the Holy Father/ Angelus

Transfer to Erbil

Afternoon

Holy Mass at the "Franso Hariri" Stadium in Erbil

Homily of the Holy Father

Departure by plane to Baghdad

Arrival at Baghdad International Airport

Monday, March 8, 2021

BAGHDAD - ROME

Tomorrow

Farewell Ceremony at Baghdad International Airport

Departure by plane to Rome

Arrival at the Rome/Ciampino international airport

The motto of the visit

"We are all brothers" is the motto of Pope Francis' visit to Iraq, whose logo shows the Pope with a gesture of greeting to the country, represented on the map and by its symbols, the palm tree and the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The logo also shows a white dove with an olive branch in its beak, symbol of peace, which flies the flags of the Holy See and the Republic of Iraq. Above the image is the motto of the visit in Arabic, Kurdish and Chaldean.

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