Pope's message to Iraqis ahead of his visit

A day of ahead of his departure for Iraq, Pope Francis released a video message for the people of Iraq, announcing to them that he was coming as a "penitent pilgrim" who will implore god for "forgiveness and reconciliation after years of war and terrorism".

Pope Francis is pushing ahead with the first papal trip to Iraq despite rising coronavirus infections, hoping to encourage the country's dwindling number of Christians who were violently persecuted during the Islamic State insurgency while seeking to boost ties with the Shiite Muslim world.

Security is a concern for the March 5-8 visit, given the continued presence of extremist militias three years after IS was defeated. Francis, who has always relished plunging into crowds and zipping around in his popemobile, is expected to travel in an armoured car with a sizeable Iraqi security detail.

The Vatican hopes the measures will have the dual effect of protecting the pope while discouraging contagion-inducing crowds.

The trip will give the Francis, and the world, a close-up look at the devastation wrought by years of conflict, economic crises and the 2014-2017 IS reign, which destroyed hundreds of Christian-owned homes and churches in the north, and sent tens of thousands of Iraqi Christians and other religious minorities fleeing.