WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Pope Francis’ upcoming apostolic visit to Iraq offers Americans a time for prayer and solidarity with the pope and the Iraqi people, said two leaders of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, USCCB president, and Bishop David J. Malloy of Rockford, Ill., chairman of the bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace, called on “all the faithful and people of goodwill in the United States to pray for the success and safety of Pope Francis’ apostolic journey to Iraq March 5-8,” in a statement released on the eve of the trip.
They also said the first papal visit to troubled Middle Eastern country “presents a critical opportunity to remember the suffering people of Iraq.”
“We share in the Holy Father's message of solidarity with our Christian brothers and sisters who are a part of the rich and ancient cultural fabric of the region and yet have undergone great trials in recent years,” the prelates said.
Through prayer with Mary, the leaders added, the faithful can join together in “beseeching that the anticipated interreligious meetings will be marked by new pathways of mutual understanding and peace.”
“As Pope Francis exhorts in Evangelii Gaudium, may these encounters be marked by ‘an attitude of openness in truth and in love,’” the statement said.
The prelates concluded, “May this moment in history mark a renewed hope for the Church in Iraq, the rebuilding of this society and peaceful coexistence for all.”
Detroit Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron, vice president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops who also served as a member of the 2010 Synod of Bishops on the Middle East, added his own prayers to the pope’s trip, noting southeast Michigan is home to one of the largest populations of Chaldean Catholics in the United States.
“As Pope Francis makes his historic visit to Iraq this weekend, becoming the first pope ever to travel there, he does so in solidarity with all Chaldeans and other Iraqi Christians who are confronted with persecutions, wars, immigration, and other significant hardships,” Archbishop Vigneron said. “Let us pray together for the Holy Father’s safety and success, that his trip will bear fruit and advance efforts toward peace, human dignity, and religious liberty for all.
“And as archbishop of Detroit, I pray in a particular way that the Holy Father’s trip will serve as a source of encouragement to our brothers and sisters in Christ, the tens of thousands of Chaldean Catholics in southeast Michigan.”
Follow the pope’s Iraq visit on CatholicTV Detroit
Coverage of the Apostolic Journey of Pope Francis to Iraq is available on CatholicTV Detroit — cable channel 398 on Xfinity, channel 16 on Spectrum, and on channel 73 on Wyandotte Cable. It can also be found on streaming services from Apple TV, Roku, Samsung SmartTV, and Amazon Firestick. Additional information at www.CatholicTV.org.
Friday, March 5
Baghdad
1. International Airport: Official welcome (6-6:15 a.m. EST) Only international sound
2. Presidential Palace: Welcome ceremony and visit to the President of the Republic (7-7:45 a.m. EST) Only international sound
3. Meeting with Authorities and Diplomatic Corps (7:45-8:15 a.m. EST – LIVE + rebroadcast 3:30 p.m.)
4. Siro-catholic Cathedral: Meeting with bishops, priests, religious and seminarians (8:40-9:40 a.m. EST – delayed broadcast 11 a.m.)
Saturday, March 6
5. Ur: Interreligious meeting (3:10-4:10 a.m. EST – LIVE + rebroadcast 11:30 a.m.)
6. Chaldean Cathedral in Baghdad: Holy Mass (9:45-11:30 a.m. EST – delayed broadcast at 1 p.m. + 8 p.m.)
Sunday, March 7
Erbil – Mosul - Qaraqosh
7. Erbil Airport: Welcome by the President of the Autonomous Region of Iraqi Kurdistan and the religious and civil authorities (12:20-12:50 a.m. EST) Only international sound
8. Mosul: Prayer of suffrage for the victims of the war (2-2:30 a.m. EST – LIVE + rebroadcast 11 a.m.)
9. Church of Immaculate Conception: Visit to the Qaraqosh community (3:30-4:15 a.m. EST – LIVE + rebroadcast 11:30 a.m.)
10. “Franso Hariri” Stadium in Erbil: Holy Mass (7:30-9:30 a.m. EST – LIVE + rebroadcast 1 p.m.)
Monday, March 8
11. Baghdada International Airport: Farewell ceremony (1:20-1:40 p.m. EST) Only international sound
Detroit Catholic contributed to this report.
