Pope Francis ended the first day of his historic trip to Iraq with hymn singing, clapping and white and yellow flowered-garland handed by well wishers shouting: "Long Live the Pope (Viva il papa! In Italian, localised in "Viva La Papa!)" as he entered the Cathedral of Our Lady of Salvation in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

"You are part of [Iraq's] history," Pope Francis said, "faithfully bearing witness to God’s never-failing promises as you strive to build a new future."

"I come as a penitent," Pope Francis said, "asking forgiveness of heaven and my brothers and sisters for so much destruction and cruelty. I come as a pilgrim of peace in the name of Christ, the Prince of Peace."

"It's indescribable," said one worshipper, 53-year-old Martin Scekes, who survived the bombing and decided to stay. Mr. Scekes  told the Catholic Herald: "The Pope coming to see us will lift our hearts."

"It's indescribable," said one worshipper, 53-year-old Martin Scekes, who survived the bombing and decided to stay. Mr. Scekes  told the Catholic Herald: "The Pope coming to see us will lift our hearts."

Ultimately, the future of Aramaic as a living language is tied to the future of those speaking it. As the speakers of the language have fled the Middle East to America, Europe, Australia, and elsewhere, the language has traveled with them. But it will be difficult for it to survive so far away from its homeland.

Christians have been waiting more than 20 years for a Pope to come see them, after St John Paul II's pilgrimage was abandoned when talks broke down with the then-President Saddam Hussein. Security concerns prevented successor Pope Benedict XVI accepting an invitation. It's not only Christian communities who are excited.

Raya is a mythic tale about an intrepid young princess leaving her homeland on a quest to save her world from an intangible menace ... but does it deliver?

Asked in February why he was making a tour of Iraq at a time of growing political tension and worries about the spread of Covid, Pope Francis replied: “I am the pastor of people who are suffering.”

CNA Staff, Mar 4, 2021 / 05:30 pm MT (CNA).- As Ireland marks the first anniversary of the novel coronavirus arriving, local Catholic bishops are calling for the government to ease its restrictions on in-person worship services.

Denver Newsroom, Mar 4, 2021 / 04:24 pm MT (CNA).- Bishops across the United States have weighed in with varied guidance for their flocks amid renewed debate over the morality of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, which received emergency FDA authorization last weekend. 

In places like northeastern Syria, southern Turkey, and northern Iraq, local dialects remain the spoken language of surviving but dwindling communities.