BAGHDAD (AP) 鈥 The death of Pope Francis has sent shockwaves through Iraq鈥檚 Christian community, where his presence once brought hope after one of the darkest chapters in the country鈥檚 recent history.
His 2021 , the first ever by a pope, came after years of conflict and displacement. Just a few years before that, many had fled their homes as Islamic State militants swept across the country.
Christian communities in Iraq, once numbering over a million, had already been reduced to a fraction of their former number by decades of conflict and mass emigration.
In Mosul, the site of some of the fiercest battles between Iraqi security forces and the Islamic State, Chaldean Archbishop Najeeb Moussa Michaeel recalled the pope鈥檚 visit to the battle-scarred city at a time when many visitors were still afraid to come as a moment of joy, 鈥渓ike a wedding for the people of Mosul."
鈥淗e broke this barrier and stood firm in the devastated city of Mosul, proclaiming a message of love, brotherhood, and peaceful coexistence,鈥 Michaeel said.
As Francis delivered a speech in the city鈥檚 al-Midan area, which had been almost completely reduced to rubble, the archbishop said, he saw tears falling from the pope鈥檚 eyes.
Sa鈥檇ullah Rassam, who was among the Christians who fled from Mosul in 2014 in the face of the IS offensive, was also crying as he watched the pope leave the church in Midan that day.
Rassam had spent years displaced in Irbil, the seat of northern Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish region, but was among the first Christians to return to Mosul, where he lives in a small house next to the church that Francis had visited.
As the pope's convoy was leaving the church, Rassam stood outside watching, tears streaming down his face. Suddenly the car stopped, and Francis got out to greet him.
鈥淚t was the best day of my life,鈥 Rassam said. The pope's visit 鈥渕ade us feel loved and heard, and it helped heal our wounds after everything that happened here," he said.
The visit also helped to spur a drive to rebuild the city鈥檚 destroyed sites, including both Muslim and Christian places of worship.
鈥淎fter the wide international media coverage of his visit, many parties began to invest again in the city. Today, Mosul is beginning to rise again,鈥 Michaeel said. 鈥淵ou can see our heritage reappear in the sculptures, the churches and the streets.鈥
Building ties across communities
Chaldean Patriarch Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako told The Associated Press that Francis had built strong relationships with the Eastern rite churches 鈥 which are often forgotten by their Latin rite counterparts 鈥 and with Muslim communities.
The patriarch recalled urging Francis early in his papacy to highlight the importance of Muslim-Christian coexistence.
After the pope鈥檚 inaugural speech, in which he thanked representatives of the Jewish community for their presence, Sako said, 鈥淚 asked him, 鈥榃hy didn鈥檛 you mention Muslims?鈥... He said, 鈥楾omorrow I will speak about Muslims,鈥 and indeed he did issue a statement the next day."
Francis went on to take 鈥渃oncrete steps to strengthen relationships鈥 between Christians and Muslims through visits to Muslim-majority countries 鈥 including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Jordan as well as Iraq 鈥 Sako said. 鈥淗e brought Muslims and Christians together around shared values.鈥
His three-day visit to Iraq 鈥渃hanged Iraq鈥檚 face 鈥 it opened Iraq to the outside world,鈥 Sako said, while 鈥渢he people loved him for his simplicity and sincerity.鈥
The patriarch said that three months before the pope鈥檚 death, he had given him a gift of dates from Iraq, and Francis responded that he 鈥渨ould never forget Iraq and that it was in his heart and in his prayers.鈥
During his visit to Iraq, Francis held a historic meeting with the country's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, at the latter鈥檚 home in Najaf.
Sistani鈥檚 office in a statement Monday expressed 鈥渄eep sorrow鈥 at the pope鈥檚 death, saying he was 鈥済reatly respected by all for his distinguished role in serving the causes of peace and tolerance, and for expressing solidarity with the oppressed and persecuted across the globe.鈥
The meeting between the two religious leaders had helped to 鈥減romote a culture of peaceful coexistence, reject violence and hatred, and uphold values of harmony based on safeguarding rights and mutual respect among followers of different religions and intellectual traditions,鈥 it said.
鈥淥ur favorite pope鈥
In Irbil, Marvel Rassam recalled joining the crowds who packed into a stadium to catch a glimpse of the pope.
The visit brought a sense of unity, Rassam said, 鈥渁s everyone attended to see him, and not only the Catholics.鈥
鈥淗e was our favorite pope, not only because he was the first to visit Iraq, but he was also very special and unique for his humility and inclusivity,鈥 he said.
At St. Joseph Chaldean Cathedral in Baghdad, where Francis led a Mass during his 2021 visit, church pastor Nadhir Dako said the pope's visit had carried special weight because it came at a time when Christians in Iraq were still processing the trauma of the IS attacks.
鈥淲e, the Christians, were in very difficult situation. There was frustration due to the forcible migration and the killing that occurred," Dako said. "The visit by the pope created a sort of determination for all Iraqis to support their Christian brothers.鈥
鈥斺赌-
Martany reported from Irbil, Iraq.
