Defying the pandemic and the security risks, Pope Francis finally stepped onto Iraqi soil at Baghdad international airport at 12:45 p.m. on March 5, realizing a visit that he had desired from the beginning of his pontificate and that had evaded his predecessors.
Gerard O’Connell
Gerard O’Connell is America’s senior Vatican correspondent and author of The Election of Pope Francis: An Inside Story of the Conclave That Changed History. He has been covering the Vatican since 1985.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
In video message, Pope Francis tells Iraq he will be visiting as a ‘penitent’ and a ‘pilgrim of peace’
Pope Francis told Iraqis that he will be visiting their country in three different roles: as a “penitent pilgrim,” a “pilgrim of peace” and a “pilgrim of hope.”
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
‘The Iraqi people are waiting for us’: Why Pope Francis is determined to take this historic trip
“They awaited St. John Paul II, who was not permitted to go. One cannot disappoint a people for the second time,” Pope Francis said ahead of his apostolic visit to Iraq, March 5 to March 8.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis expects to die ‘in Rome, as pope, in office or emeritus’
In a book on the health of the popes, Francis discusses his own health history and says he is now in good health for his age.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Interview: What to expect when Pope Francis makes his historic trip to Iraq
An interview with Cardinal Leonardi Sandri, the prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Oriental Churches
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis accepts the resignation of Cardinal Sarah as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship
A number of the cardinal’s public statements on the liturgy and other topics reflected a pre-Vatican II traditionalist outlook that at times openly contrasted with the direction given by Pope Francis.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis offers a roadmap for overcoming the pandemic—and the 7 other crises it exposed
In his address to Vatican ambassadors, Pope Francis said that the pandemic “set before us a choice: either to continue on the road we have followed until now or to set out on a new path.”
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis prays for peace in Myanmar, calling on its leaders to work for the common good
Pope Francis today expressed his “live concern” at the recent developments in Myanmar where the military has seized power, overthrowing the results of the recent election.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
For the first time, Pope Francis appoints a woman with the right to vote as undersecretary of the synod of bishops
Breaking with tradition and opening a new door in the synodal process, Pope Francis has appointed a woman, Sister Nathalie Becquart, as one of two new undersecretaries of the synod of bishops.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis and Grand Imam Al-Tayyeb celebrate first-ever International Day of Human Fraternity
The head of the Catholic Church and the head of Al-Azhar gave the world yet another powerful witness of their friendship and commitment to work together for peace among the nations.