CNN —Two attempted attacks on Pope Francis, including one by a suicide bomber, were foiled during his landmark trip to Iraq in 2021, the pontiff has revealed in an autobiography.
The pope wrote that he was warned of a report by British security services that a young woman with explosives was on her way to Mosul to blow herself up during his visit.
This, too, was the poisoned fruit of war.”Francis’ visit to Iraq was the first by a pontiff to the country, and was considered a very high-risk journey, both for security reasons and due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
But Francis explained he was determined to go to Iraq, a country rich in biblical history, and home to one of the oldest Christian communities in the world.
During the trip he showed solidarity with persecuted Christians in the country and held a historic meeting with the Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani, one of the leading authorities of Shia Islam.
Persons:
Pope Francis, Francis, van “, ” Francis, “ Hope, “, laconically, ’ ”, Della Sera, ” Francis ’
Organizations:
CNN, Gendarmerie
Locations:
Iraq, Mosul, Italian, Islam