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

Precious items have been exchanged between the Pope and his hosts

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

Taylor Heyman author image
Taylor Heyman
Mar 05, 2021
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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 precious prayer shawl using golden thread, to gift to Pope Francis during his upcoming visit to her Iraqi hometown Qaraqosh, in the Nineveh province, some 30 kilometres from Mosul, on March 4, 2021. The two-metre shawl is entirely locally produced, from the checkered red and black fabric to the Syriac prayers hand-stitched along its edges in glimmering gold. It was designed by Ammar Yaqo, the priest at the Al-Tahera Church in Qaraqosh. / AFP / Zaid AL-OBEIDI
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.

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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 historic Aramaic prayer manuscript. Courtesy Father Ammar Altony Yako

A historic Aramaic prayer manuscript that survived the ISIS assault on the Iraqi city of Qaraqosh. Courtesy: Father Ammar Altony Yako

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.

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