Pope visits Iraq - 10th March 2021

Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic church, completed a trip to Iraq on Sunday.

The Pope hasn't visited another country for 15 months. The pandemic stopped Francis from travelling. But this was an important trip for Francis. He wants to support Iraq and its people.

In recent years, Iraq has had many problems with terrorism. Many Iraqis were killed by the terrorist group ISIS.

Iraq's Christians were affected by the fighting. Many were killed or ran away from Iraq. There are only 250,000 Christians in Iraq today. But 20 years ago, the population was 1.5 million.

During his trip, Pope Francis had an important meeting with Grand Ayatollah Sistani. The Ayatollah is a Muslim leader in Iraq. The Pope and the Ayatollah want to make connections between their religions. And they want Muslims and Christians to live in peace in Iraq.

Francis gave a speech in the Al-Tahera Church. He prayed for people who died in wars.

Pope Francis: "Today we raise our voices in prayer to Almighty God for all the victims of war and armed conflict. Here in Mosul, the tragic consequences of war and hostility are all too evident."

On the final day of his trip, Pope Francis celebrated with Christians in this sports stadium. He said Iraq will always be special for him.

Pope Francis: "Now the time draws near for my return to Rome. Yet Iraq will always remain with me, in my heart."