Pope Francis blesses people as he arrives in the popemobile vehicle at the Franso Hariri Stadium in Arbil, on March 7, 2021, in the capital of the northern Iraqi Kurdish autonomous region. Pope Francis, on his historic Iraq tour, visits today Christian communities that endured the brutality of the Islamic State group until the jihadists' "caliphate" was defeated three years ago. (/ AFP / Vincenzo PINTO)
Mar. 07, 2021
Ishtartv.com
– dailystar.com.
ERBIL, Iraq: Pope Francis vowed
Sunday to keep Iraq in his heart, as he concluded the largest mass and final
public event of a historic trip meant to encourage the country's dwindling
Christian community and deepen interfaith dialogue.
The pontiff celebrated among
thousands of smiling worshippers in a sports stadium in the Kurdistan region's
capital Arbil, after visiting Christian survivors of the Islamic State group's
reign of terror.
The 84-year-old was driven in his
white, windowless "pope-mobile" into the stadium, where jubilant
worshippers sat socially distanced on white chairs spread out on the greens.
Others stood, craning their necks
to catch a glimpse of Francis, in the stands ringing the Franso Hariri Stadium,
named after an Iraqi Christian politician who was assassinated by extremists 20
years ago.
In concluding the mass, the Pope
vowed to keep Iraq in his heart even when he returns to the Vatican on Monday.
"In my time among you, I
have heard voices of sorrow and loss, but also voices of hope and consolation,"
he said.
"Now the time draws near for
my return to Rome. Yet Iraq will always remain with me, in my heart."
The faithful wore hats featuring
pictures of Francis, and face-masks to protect them from Covid, as a second
wave has driven up cases to around 5,000 new infections per day in Iraq.
The stadium seats around 20,000,
but large swathes of the stands were empty after authorities had trimmed down
the allowed attendance in recent days.
"It's a special trip, also
because of the conditions," said Matteo Bruni, the Vatican's spokesman,
who described the visit to Iraq as "a gesture of love for this land its
people".
Iraq's Christian population has
shrunk to fewer than 400,000, from around 1.5 million before the US-led
invasion of 2003.
Arbil has been a place of refuge
for many Christians who fled violence over the years, including IS jihadists'
2014 onslaught and ensuing reign of terror.
The heaviest security deployment
yet is protecting Francis in northern Iraq on what is perhaps the riskiest day
of his historic trip.
The city was targeted just weeks
ago by a deadly rocket attack, the latest in a series of strikes blamed on
pro-Iranian forces.
- 'The most beautiful day' -
The visit to the north came the
day after the leader of the world's 1.3 billion Catholics met Iraq's top Shiite
Muslim cleric, the reclusive Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, who agreed Iraq's
Christians should be able to live in "peace".
It also embodies a cause close to
the pope's heart: reaching out to Iraq's traumatised Christian community.
Watching from afar as IS swept
across the northern province of Nineveh in 2014, Pope Francis said he was ready
to come and meet the displaced and other victims of war in a show of
solidarity.
He fulfilled that promise on
Sunday, first visiting Mosul, the onetime bastion of the Islamic State group,
still largely in ruins.
Standing in front of the
partially collapsed walls of the centuries-old Al-Tahera (Immaculate
Conception) Church, Francis pleaded for Christians in Iraq and the Middle East
to stay in their homelands.
He said the "tragic"
exodus of Christians "does incalculable harm not just to the individuals
and communities concerned, but also to the society they leave behind".
The Al-Tahera Church, whose roof
collapsed during fighting against IS in 2017, is one of the oldest of at least
14 churches in Nineveh province that were destroyed by the jihadists.
The pope was driven in a golf
cart around the historic Old City, largely razed during the grinding fight to
dislodge the jihadists.
"Today was the most
beautiful day for us, being visited by the pope!" said Hala Raad, a
Christian woman who had fled when IS seized Mosul but returned to see the pope.
"We hope to come back to
Mosul in health and wellbeing. The most important thing is security -- we want
stability."
- 'Do not lose hope!' -
Before visiting Arbil on Sunday,
the pope held a prayer service in Qaraqosh, whose ancient church -- named
Al-Tahera, like the one in Mosul -- was torched by the jihadists as they
destroyed most of the town.
Residents of Qaraqosh have since
rebuilt their homes with little government help.
Al-Tahera too has been
refurbished, its marble floors and internal colonnades buffed to host its most
important guest yet.
Dressed in traditional
embroidered robes, hundreds of Christians -- who speak a modern dialect of
Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus Christ -- welcomed the pontiff with hymns
and olive branches.
"Do not stop dreaming! Do
not give up! Do not lose hope!" Francis urged those gathered.
"Now is the time to rebuild
and to start afresh."
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