Pope Francis will make a pilgrimage to Iraq in March, pandemic conditions permitting, the Vatican said Monday, in announcing what would be the pontiff's first trip abroad in more than a year.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Francis will make the March 5-8 visit, with stops in Baghdad, and the "plains of Ur, linked to the memory of Abraham," the Biblical patriarch who is revered by Jews, Christians and Muslims, as well as to the cities of Irbil, Mosul and Qaraqosh.
Bruni said the trip,s schedule will be announced later and will take into consideration "the evolution of the worldwide health emergency" that is the COVID-19 pandemic.