POPE TO MAKE RISKY TRIP TO IRAQ, FIRST EVER

Pope Francis will make the first visit by a pope to Iraq next March, the Vatican said on Monday, a risky four-day trip that has eluded his predecessors.

Spokesman Matteo Bruni said Francis, who turns 84 next week, will visit the capital Baghdad, as well as Ur, a city linked to the Old Testament figure of Abraham, and Erbil, Mosul and Qaraqosh in the plain of Nineveh.

The trip, at the invitation of the Iraqi government and local Church, is planned for March 5-8, Bruni said.

“The program of the journey will be made known in due course, and will take into consideration the evolution of the worldwide health emergency,” Bruni said.

A Vatican source said one of the aims of the trip was to comfort Christians who, amid wars and conflicts, have been forced to flee from Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries.