Pope to visit Iraq in first overseas trip since coronavirus pandemic

Francis plans tour of cities including Baghdad and Ur in risky trip that eluded his predecessors

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Pope Francis will make the first visit by a pope to Iraq next year, the Vatican has said, a risky trip that eluded his predecessors.

The Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni, said the pontiff, who turns 84 next week, would visit the capital, Baghdad, and Ur, a city linked to the Old Testament figure of Abraham, as well as Erbil, Mosul and Qaraqosh in the Nineveh plains, from 5-8 March. It will be his first trip in more than a year after all his overseas visits were cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.