Baghdad – From next Sunday, January 17, the Chaldeans are invited to recite together a prayer composed by Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako in order to ask the Almighty Lord to make possible the announced visit of Pope Francis to the land of the two rivers. The prayer, the text of which was disseminated by the official channels of the Chaldean Patriarchate, is as follows:
“Lord our God, grant Pope Francis health and safety to carry out successfully this eagerly awaited visit. Bless his effort to promote dialogue, enhance fraternal reconciliation, build confidence, consolidate peace values and human dignity, especially for us Iraqis who have been through painful “events” that affected our lives. Lord, our Creator, enlighten our hearts with Your light, to recognize goodness and peace, and to realize them. Mother Mary, we entrust Pope Francis’ visit to your maternal care so that the Lord may grant us the grace of living in a complete national communion, and cooperate fraternally to build a better future for our country and our citizens. Amen”.
Pope Francis’ trip to Iraq, at the invitation of the civil authorities and the local Catholic Church, was officially announced and should take place from 5 to 8 March 2021. However, it is necessary to take into account that the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic has already forced the postponement to a later date other apostolic visits that the Pope intended to carry out during the past year, such as that in Malta and Gozo, initially scheduled for May 31, 2020.
Source: Agenzia Fides
