Pope Francis arrives in Kurdistan Region of Iraq
ERBIL, KRG, Iraq (North Press) – Pope Francis, Pope of the Catholic Church, arrived in Erbil, in Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRG), on Sunday.
He was welcomed by KRG President Nechirvan Barzani, the Prime Minister of KRG, Masrour Barzani, as well as civil and religious authorities, at the Presidential Lounge of the airport.
A number of individuals gathered at the entrance to the Erbil airport to greet the Pope, while the flag of the Kurdistan Region and the Vatican flag were raised at the entrance to the airport.
The city of Erbil is preparing to hold the largest mass in the Franso Hariri Stadium in the city, according to the coordinator of the Pope’s mass organization and the priest of the Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese of Erbil, Father Dinkha Abdul Ahad.
In recent years, Erbil has become home to thousands of refugees, mostly from Qaraqosh and Mosul, who fled during the rule of the Islamic State (ISIS). The city has welcomed an estimated 540,000 Iraqi IDPs in addition to other Syrian refugees into camps in the region.