Pope Francis has announced that in 2021 he was almost killed during a visit to Iraq. The pontiff shared this story in his forthcoming autobiography Spera ("Hope"), excerpts of which were published in the newspaper Corriere della Sera, UNN reports.
Details
According to the Pope, he was strongly advised not to travel to Iraq in March 2021 because the Covid pandemic was raging, especially in the city of Mosul, where he was headed.
However, the Pope said he would continue his trip. As soon as Francis arrived in Baghdad, British intelligence informed the Iraqi police about planned terrorist attacks. One of the suicide bombers was a woman who was traveling to Mosul to blow herself up during the papal visit.
Later, Francis asked the Vatican security service what happened to the suicide bombers. "The commander answered succinctly: "They are no longer here". The Iraqi police intercepted them and forced them to blow themselves up. This also struck me: even this is the poisonous fruit of war," he says in his book.
Francis continued his three-day trip to six Iraqi cities, saying at the time that he was traveling as a "pilgrim of peace." He was guarded by 10,000 Iraqi police officers, and a curfew was imposed in the country to limit the spread of Covid-19.
Recall
During his visit to Corsica, Pope Francis prayed for peace, calling Ukrainians and Russians brothers. The pontiff called for mutual understanding between the nations, emphasizing that war is always a defeat.