Damaged churches in Mosul to be visited by pope

During his stop in Iraq's northern city of Mosul on Sunday, Pope Francis will visit a compound of churches badly damaged during the fight against the Islamic State group.

Coming amid a pandemic and security challenges, the pope's historic trip is taking him to Christian communities ravaged by the IS onslaught in 2014. Christians in the area were forced to escape ancestral towns and villages as the militants swept through northern Iraq. Many have since scattered abroad.

On Sunday, Francis will honor the dead in the Mosul square of Hosh al-Bieaa surrounded by shells of destroyed churches. He will later meet with a small Christian community that returned to the town of Qaraqosh, about 30 kilometres south-east of Mosul, where he will bless their church that was vandalized and used as a firing range by IS.

Many hope the pope's trip can focus attention on their struggles and send a message of encouragement, but they also point to security, economic and social challenges deterring many Christians from returning.

Iraqis have welcomed the visit and the international attention it has given the country as it struggles to recover from decades of war and unrest. Iraq declared victory over the Islamic State group in 2017 but still sees sporadic attacks.

Francis arrived in Iraq on Friday, he met with senior government officials on the first-ever papal visit to the country. On Saturday he met with Iraq's top Shiite cleric, the Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani.