Ahead of Pope Francis’s historic trip to Iraq Friday, the Vatican says the visit will continue despite rising Covid-19 infections there.
“All precautions have been taken from a health standpoint,” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni told journalists on Tuesday.
“The best way to interpret the journey is as an act of love; it is a gesture of love from the Pope to the people of this country who need it, ”he said.
When questioned by journalists about the potential risks to Iraqis from spreading the coronavirus, Bruni said the Pope “will not encounter crowds.”
“He will be traveling in a locked car and it will be difficult to see him from the street. But even seeing him on TV will be worth it, ”he said.
On Wednesday, the Pope urged Catholics to pray for a successful trip. “I ask you to prayerfully guide this Apostolic Journey so that it can take place in the best way and bring home the desired results.
“The Iraqi people are waiting for us. They had been waiting for Pope John II, who was not allowed to go. We cannot disappoint a country (a people) a second time. Let us pray that this trip can be done right.”
Pope Francis and his entourage have all been vaccinated against Covid-19, the Vatican said – despite the announcement by his embassy in Iraq on Sunday that his ambassador, Mitra Leskovar, has tested positive for Covid-19.
The Pope will stay at the Vatican Embassy during his trip, the Vatican said Tuesday. Ambassador Leskovar has been transferred to another residence.
The Pope will visit Najaf, a site sacred to Shia Muslims, where Muhammad’s son-in-law, Imam Ali, is buried.
Najaf is home to one of the most important centers of education in the Islamic world, and there Pope Francis will have a private meeting with Great Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, one of the most influential Shia Muslim leaders.
“The significance of the meeting goes beyond the meeting itself,” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said on Tuesday.
Pope Francis has made dialogue with Muslims a cornerstone of his papacy. In 2019, he famously signed a joint document with Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, the head of the supreme Sunni Muslim authority and Al-Azhar University, in Abu Dhabi, encouraging peace between people of different faiths.
“The Pope goes to Iraq in search of his brothers and comes as a brother,” Bruni said.
In Qaraqosh, Francis will meet Christians at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception which was almost completely destroyed by ISIS 2016-17; The church courtyard was used as a shooting range during the ISIS occupation.
The declining Christian population in Iraq is one of the main reasons for the Pope’s journey, according to the Vatican.
“I am a pastor of people who are suffering,” the Pope said in an interview with Catholic News Service last month, discussing his upcoming trip.
In Ur, Francis will also meet with some representatives of the Yazidi minority community in Iraq, who was murdered and enslaved by ISIS in 2014.