“Through prayer, education, and public action during Religious Freedom Week, the USCCB hopes to promote the essential right of religious freedom for Catholics and for those of all faiths.”

Pope Francis expresses his spiritual closeness and offers prayers for victims of tragedies in Iraq; the Mediterranean; and the the Caribbean island nation of St Vincent and the Grenadines.

He said that by visiting Iraq, he had fulfilled a dream of his predecessor Pope John Paul II, who had hoped to mark the turn of the millennium with a journey “in the footsteps of Abraham,” but was unable to travel to the ancient city of Ur.

During an in-flight press conference on the flight back to Rome March 8, the pope was asked if the meeting with al-Sistani was a message to the religious leaders of Iran.

"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."

Significant other risks also attend the visit, long desired by Pope Francis and highly anticipated by the sorely tried people of the country. — Rome — The Apostolic Nuncio to Iraq, Archbishop Mitja Leskovar, has tested positive for coronavirus and is in isolation at a site removed from the nunciature — the Vatican embassy —

These measures come in the weeks leading up to Pope Francis’ March 5-8 trip to Iraq. The pope’s schedule includes a Mass at the Chaldean Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Baghdad on March 6 and a visit to the Syriac Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Bakhdida March 7.

At stake is whether Iraq will finally emerge from the trauma of Saddam Hussein and the past sixteen years, to become a legitimate, independent and functioning country, or whether it will become a permanently lawless region, open to proxy wars between other countries and movements, and a servant to the sectarian demands of those outside the country.