Pope Francis leaves Iraq after successful first-ever papal visit to the country

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Pope Francis leaves Iraq after successful first-ever papal visit to the country

By Tim Stickings For Mailonline and Afp

Published: | Updated:

Pope Francis today finished the first-ever papal trip to Iraq, which went off without a hitch despite security worries and a second wave of coronavirus cases in the country.

The 84-year-old pontiff covered more than 900 miles inside the country, bringing encouragement to its diminished Christian population and reaching out to the Shiite Muslim majority through a meeting with top cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani.