Pope Francis on Friday arrived in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad for a historic apostolic four-day trip to the Middle Eastern nation, Eurasia Diary reports citing Sputnik.
Pope Francis visits Najaf, one of the holy cities of Shi'a Islam during the second day of his four-day trip to Iraq.
In Najaf, the pontiff will hold a meeting with influential Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Al-Husayni Al-Sistani, regarded as the spiritual leader of Iraq's Shi'a muslims.
Apart from Baghdad and Najaf the papal visit includes Ur — which is famous among Christians, Jews and Muslims as the birthplace of Abraham — and other Iraqi cities.
The pope became the first-ever pontiff to visit the homeland of Abraham. His visit is described as an act of solidarity with the Christian community and a symbolic outreach to Muslims. Ahead of the visit, the pope said, in a special address to the Iraqi people, that he would come to their country as a peace messenger to pray for reconciliation after the years of war and terrorism which have plagued Iraq.