A Call For World Peace - The Mornin' Cup

A landmark moment for peace throughout the world as,

The Pope has arrived in Iraq for a historic weekend visit which carries both symbolism and risk.

With a message of inter-faith tolerance, Francis will spend four days in Iraq in what is his first foreign trip in more than a year and the first-ever papal pilgrimage to the war-hit nation.

A red carpet was rolled out at Baghdad International Airport with prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on hand to greet the pontiff.

The Pope has since been welcomed to Iraq's presidential palace by the country's president Barham Salih.

The Pope will also visit the holy city of Najaf in the south, the ancient birthplace of Abraham at Ur and Mosul in the north,

which became the capital of the so-called Islamic State (IS) in 2014 until its defeat in 2017.

"I am coming as a pilgrim, as a penitent pilgrim, to implore from the Lord forgiveness and reconciliation after years of war and terrorism, to beg from God the consolation of hearts and the healing of wounds."

the Pope will hold a vigil in Hosh al Bieaa (Church Square) where he will pray for the victims of war.

He will then head east to the town of Qaraqosh for a Sunday service of prayer and remembrance at the Immaculate Conception Church.

The church was one particular focus for the Islamic State's widespread barbarism.

IS followers used the church courtyard as a firing range. Furniture, statues, bibles, and prayer books were also burnt in the courtyard and a black mark on the ground marks the spot where the desecration took place.

Before the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, an estimated 1.5 million Christians lived in the country.

Today, only about 200,000 remain, the rest have been driven out by sectarian violence.

Among the most symbolic moments will be a meeting with Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani, the spiritual leader for millions of Shia Muslims and one of the world's most influential Islamic scholars.

The two elderly men - the Pope is 84 and the Grand Ayatollah is 90 - will pray together in the holy city of Najaf. It is thought to be the first-ever encounter between a pope and an Iraqi grand ayatollah.

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