A Pope has never Iraq before. Despite the country's, tumultuous history of sectarian and cross-religious violence, the leader of the Catholic Church has never crossed the Iraqi border. This changed in 2020. In hopes of providing solidarity and peace for the historically oppressed religious minorities that have long suffered there, Pope Francis visited Iraq and Kurdistan.
The ensuing 72 hours was the subject of international coverage. Pope Francis delivered a mass in Erbil and Franso Hariri Stadium that was received by only thousands in person, but hundreds of millions worldwide. It is one of the most significant moments in Kurdish, Iraqi and Catholic modern history.