Kurdish official has revealed that its expected Pope Francis to visit Iraqi Kurdistan Region, however, the date of the visit has not been set, according BasNews.
Pope Francis’s representative, Cardinal Fernando Filoni, arrived in Erbil on 31st March and was welcomed by the Kurdistan Region’s Minister of Endowment and Religious Affairs Kamal Muslim, and the General Director for the Christian Affairs.
Muslim told the reporters, “Cardinal Filoni is in Kurdistan to witness the situation of the displaced people and refugees.”
Former spokesperson of the Ministry of Endowment and Religious Affairs Mariwan Naqshbandi told BasNews, “When he met Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani at the Vatican last May, Pope Francis promised Barzani he would visit Kurdistan in the future.”
“His schedule to visit Kurdistan has not yet been announced,” Naqshbandi said.
Kurdistan Region currently hosts thousands of Iraqi Christian refugees, who has left their homes from Middle and Southern Iraqi provinces.
Vatican has continuously acknowledged the role KRG has played in protecting Iraqi Christians from the extremist group.
