Pope Francis's trip to Iraq is dangerous, says Benedict XVI

Francis set to become the first Pope to visit Iraq on Friday

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, left, said a trip to Iraq was dangerous and he would be with Pope Francis in prayer. AP

Pope Francis's visit to Iraq is dangerous,  Benedict XVI said on Monday.

Pope Francis is set to embark on a three-day trip to Iraq that will take him to six cities as the country, ravaged by years of conflict, faces a second deadly wave of coronavirus infections and renewed violence.

"I think it's a very important trip," Benedict, the 93-year-old pope emeritus, who lives in a monastery in the Vatican City, told the Corriere della Sera daily.

The statue of the Virgin Mary at the Syriac Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception, or Al-Tahira Al-Kubra church, in the predominantly Christian town of Qaraqosh in Iraq. AFP

A nun adds a coat of paint to the crucifix at the Immaculate Mary Convent in Qaraqosh, in preparation for the visit of Pope Francis in March. AFP

Policemen stand guard as maintenance work is carried out at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Qaraqosh before the Pope's visit. EPA

A fighter from the Nineveh Plain Protection Units, an Assyrian Christian militia, stands guard outside the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Qaraqosh. AFP

Iraqi and Vatican flags and a picture of Pope Francis in Qaraqosh, about 30 kilometres east of Mosul in northern Iraq. EPA

A sign welcoming Pope Francis hangs outside the Syriac Catholic Church of St Thomas in Qaraqosh. AFP

Father Ammar Yako, head of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, walks past a poster of Pope Francis days before his historic visit to Iraq. Getty

Workers prepare a path at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Qaraqosh, Iraq. AFP

Iraqi men print a banner of Pope Francis and Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani at a factory in Najaf, before the first papal visit to Iraq. AFP

Municipal workers pave the road outside the Chaldean Catholic Church of St Joseph in preparation for the Pope's visit to Baghdad. AFP

Members of a Christian choir rehearse at the Chaldean Catholic Church of St Joseph before the visit of Pope Francis. AFP

Workers prepare Franso Hariri Stadium in Erbil for the arrival of Pope Francis. AFP

A stage has been set up at Franso Hariri Stadium in preparation for the papal visit to Iraq. AFP

A poster of Pope Francis on the wall of the Chaldean Catholic Church of St Joseph in Baghdad. AFP

Al Tahera Syriac Catholic Church in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, which was severely damaged by ISIS in 2017. Pope Francis is expected to pray there during his March visit. AFP

Al Tahera Syriac Catholic Church in Mosul was damaged by ISIS as the extremists were forced out of the city. AFP

The Chaldean Catholic Church of St Joseph in Iraq's capital Baghdad. The Pope will visit the city in March. AFP

Inside the Chaldean Catholic Church of St Joseph in Baghdad. AFP

Workers at Franso Hariri Stadium in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's northern autonomous Kurdish region. The Pope will hold a Mass at the stadium in March. AFP

Workers finalise preparations for the Pope's visit to Franso Hariri Stadium in Erbil. AFP

Pope Francis will hold a Mass at Franso Hariri Stadium in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's northern autonomous Kurdish region. AFP

"Unfortunately, it comes at a very difficult time, which also makes it a dangerous trip: for reasons of security and for coronavirus. And then there's the unstable situation in Iraq.”

“I will accompany Francis with my prayers,” he said.

Pope Francis, 84, plans to voice solidarity with Iraq's Christian minority who have been persecuted since the US-led invasion that toppled former dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003.

He is expected to become the first Pope to visit Iraq on Friday.

The Vatican has reserved the right to postpone the visit at the last minute since it was announced in December.

Francis has been vaccinated against coronavirus.

The Vatican's ambassador to Iraq, Mitja Leskovar, tested positive for the virus on Sunday but the trip appears to be going ahead as planned.

Pope Francis is fulfilling the dream of a predecessor, John Paul II.

The Pope will arrive in Baghdad on Friday and will visit the ancient Mesopotamian site of Ur, the birthplace of Abraham, the patriarch of the three monotheistic religions.

He will travel north to Mosul and the visit the Christian town of Qaraqosh, and the Kurdish capital of Erbil.

Years of wars and conflict have shrunk the Christian community, one of the world's oldest, from 1.5 million in 2003 to at least 400,000 today.

Iraq’s Christian community is one of the oldest and most diverse in the world, with Chaldeans and other Catholics making up around half, along with Armenian Orthodox, Protestants and others.