Pope Francis was on Sunday morning visiting Mosul, a martyr city of Daesh, finally liberated at the end of 2017. Amidst the ruins, the sovereign pontiff prayed for the victims of the war and called for fraternity.

He then went to the Christian town of Qaraqosh, some thirty kilometers away, to celebrate the angelus.

REPORT

This will probably remain the most striking image of Pope Francis' historic trip to Iraq.

The 84-year-old pontiff was in Mosul on Sunday morning, a city ravaged by Daesh which had made it its stronghold from 2014 to 2017, until the city's liberation.

Sitting amidst the ruins, surrounded by the rubble of a war-destroyed church, the Pope called on the Christian community to return to Mosul.

He also contemplated the few crosses still there.

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"Brotherhood is stronger than fratricide"

"How cruel this country is. How cruel that this country has been hit by such an inhuman storm, with thousands and thousands of people wiped out. Today we strongly reaffirm that brotherhood is stronger than brotherhood ", he declared, before praying for the victims of the war.

The pope then took the direction of Qaraqosh, a 100% Christian city located about thirty kilometers from Mosul.

There, his convoy of armored cars was met by hundreds of Iraqis.

In a completely rebuilt church, the inhabitants had prepared a festive welcome for him and the Pope celebrated the Angelus there.

"We did it! We hosted the Pope at our home in Qaraqosh. It was incredible. We were rebuilding our house, but it was only today that we came back to the life, "Joseph told the microphone of Europe 1.

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A mass in the Erbil stadium

On Sunday afternoon, Pope Francis was due to travel to Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan, for a mass in the city's stadium.

Security will be strict there after a rocket attack in February against the airport in this city.

Deprived of walkabouts since his arrival in Iraq, the Pope will probably be able to greet the faithful from the popemobile, not yet used so far.

The sovereign pontiff will leave the country on Monday, after a last night in Baghdad.