Pope Francis, by visiting a Shia majority country, completes his pastoral embrace of the Islamic world, begun two years ago with his trip to Abu Dhabi when he met with Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb.

Pope Francis hopes to embark on the first-ever papal visit to the biblical land of Iraq in early March in a spiritual pilgrimage.

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and Gerard O’Connell look at the challenges facing Pope Francis' scheduled trip to Iraq.

Iraq’s top Catholic official said Thursday that a deadly suicide bombing in Baghdad hasn’t thwarted Pope Francis’ plans to visit.

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell talk about how the Vatican is weighing the pastoral needs of Iraq’s embattled Christian community and the health and safety concerns for Pope Francis and for the crowds who want to see him.

While a visit from the pope will no doubt provide a spiritual and psychological boost to Nineveh Christians, under the current pandemic conditions it is a prospect that must give local public health officials pause.