Pope Francis receives a gift as he arrives at Iraq's Presidential Palace. Office of the President
Pope Francis receives a gift as he arrives at Iraq's Presidential Palace. Office of the President
Pope Francis receives a gift as he arrives at Iraq's Presidential Palace. Office of the President
Pope Francis receives a gift as he arrives at Iraq's Presidential Palace. Office of the President

A shawl, medallions and a 500-year-old book: the gifts given and received by the Pope in Iraq


Taylor Heyman
  • English
  • Arabic

From flowers to Lamborghinis, the Pope is no stranger to gifts. On the first day of his visit to Iraq, he exchanged gifts with the president and Christian leaders and will continue to be given a variety of keepsakes as he continues his four-day trip.

Here are some of the items he has received and given so far.

Presidential gifts

Iraq's President Barham Salih presented a number of gifts to the pontiff, including two stone carvings by the late Iraqi artist Mohammed Ghani Hikmat, and a hand-embroidered cross featuring gold thread and semi-precious stones with a head cap from Kurdistan.

Handmade shawl

Iraqi priest Ammar Yaqo looks on as Karjiya Baqtar embroiders a prayer shawl using golden thread to gift to Pope Francis. AFP
Iraqi priest Ammar Yaqo looks on as Karjiya Baqtar embroiders a prayer shawl using golden thread to gift to Pope Francis. AFP

One of the gifts Pope Francis received on his first day in Iraq was a handmade prayer shawl.

Christian Karjiya Baqtar worked for two months with other Christians in Qaraqosh to complete the stole vestment.

The two-metre stole is entirely locally produced – from the chequered red and black fabric to the Syriac prayers hand-stitched along its edges in glimmering gold.

At the same service, the Pope was given a monstrance by Iraqi church leaders and gave a chalice in return, a common gift for churches he visits.

Medallion

The Vatican state post office, Ufficio Filatelico e Numismatico, has minted a medal for the Iraq visit, as it does for every foreign trip the pontiff makes.

The new medallion features the dates of the visit, March 5 to 8, and the words 'Visit to Iraq' in Latin.

A restored 'refugee' prayer book

The Pope won't just be receiving gifts on the visit. One of the most precious items of cargo on his Alitalia flight on Friday was a 500-year-old manuscript.

The 116-page book once belonged to the Great Al Tahira Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Qaraqosh, the largest Syriac-Catholic church in the Middle East. It was discovered when people re-entered the city of Qaraqosh after ISIS was chased out.

The prayers and hymns are written in two columns in calligraphy, with colourful illustrations on some pages. The book was taken to Italy for restoration in 2018 and will be returned to Qaraqosh when the Pope visits.

Vidaamuyarchi

Director: Magizh Thirumeni

Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra

Rating: 4/5

 

Silent Hill f

Publisher: Konami

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Rating: 4.5/5

What is graphene?

Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.

It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.

It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.

It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.

Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.

The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.

Cinco in numbers

Dh3.7 million

The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown

46

The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.

1,000

The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]

50

How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday

3,000

The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.

1.1 million

The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.

Company%20profile
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What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

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COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3EFounder%3A%20Hani%20Abu%20Ghazaleh%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20with%20an%20office%20in%20Montreal%3Cbr%3EFounded%3A%202018%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Virtual%20Reality%3Cbr%3EInvestment%20raised%3A%20%241.2%20million%2C%20and%20nearing%20close%20of%20%245%20million%20new%20funding%20round%3Cbr%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%2012%3C%2Fp%3E%0A