Vatican City, Dec 7, 2020 / 05:55 am (CNA).- The Vatican announced Monday that Pope Francis will travel to Iraq in March 2021. He will be the first pope to ever visit the country, which is still recovering from the devastation inflicted by the Islamic State.

The four-day papal trip to Iraq March 5-8 will include stops in Baghdad, Erbil and Mosul. It will be the pope’s first international trip in over a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.