This morning, Pope Francesco arrived in the city of Mosul in northern Iraq, from the city of Erbil (the center of the Kurdistan region of Iraq) by helicopter, on the third day of his historic visit to Iraq.
The President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Nechirvan Barzani, received the Pope at Erbil airport, along with officials and representatives of sects and religions in the region.
An official reception ceremony took place at Erbil airport, and the Pope then went with his hosts to the presidential VIP lounge at the airport, and they held a joint meeting.
Nechirvan Barzani was at the forefront of my future Pope Francis at Erbil Airport (Getty Images)
"I am honored to receive Pope Francesco in Erbil," Nechirvan Barzani said - in a tweet after the meeting.
On his visit to Mosul, the Pope is scheduled to tour some churches there.
According to the Pope's visit program, after Mosul, he will visit the nearby town of Qaraqosh, whose residents are preparing to receive him with a unique gift that reflects the heritage of their region, which is a specially designed scarf, in addition to other preparations of decorations and banners to welcome him.
The town of Qaraqosh - or Baghdeda - has a very ancient history prior to Christianity, as its residents speak a modern dialect of Aramaic, the language of Christ, peace be upon him, to this day, and therefore it is an important stage in the Pope's visit.
There, the Pope visits the restored Al-Tahira Church.
Then the Pope will return to Erbil to hold a large mass attended by more than 10,000 people at the François Hariri International Stadium.
The Pope arrived in Iraq on Friday on a historic visit, the first by the Pope of the Vatican to the country, and will continue until Monday.
In Ur, the Pope of the Vatican met yesterday with representatives of the various religious sects in Iraq (Anatolia)
On Saturday, the Pope performed a mass at St. Joseph Cathedral in the capital, Baghdad, the first of its kind.
Also on Saturday, he met with the supreme Shiite cleric in Iraq, Ali al-Sistani, at the latter's office in the city of Najaf (south of Baghdad).
On Saturday, a unified interfaith prayer was held in which the Pope participated in the city of Ur, the birthplace of the Prophet Abraham, peace be upon him, in the province of Dhi Qar (south).
In his speech from Ur, the Pope denounced "terrorism that offends religion," adding, "We believers cannot remain silent when terrorism offends religion. Rather, it is our duty to eliminate misunderstanding."
It is estimated that only 400,000 Christians remain in Iraq today, out of a population of 40 million, up from 1.5 million in 2003 before the US invasion of Iraq.