Pope Francis reveals that he survived two death threats in Iraq

Pope Francis has revealed that he narrowly escaped two attempts on his life during his visit to Iraq in March 2021, in the city of Mosul.

In a new book titled Hope (translated as “Hope”), to be published on January 14, 2025, the Holy Father recounts his personal story, including details of the attack planned during his trip.

He was advised not to go

According to Corriere della Sera, the Italian newspaper that shared excerpts from the book, the Pontiff claimed that most people had advised him against making the apostolic visit to a land devastated by jihadism and extremist violence. Those challenges were compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic and very high security risks.

“But I wanted to go at all costs. “I felt I had to do it,” said Francis, who said he felt an obligation to visit and meet “our ancestor Abraham,” from whom Jews, Christians and Muslims trace their lineage.

The Holy Father also stressed that he did not want to disappoint the Iraqi people. Twenty years earlier, Pope John Paul II had been unable to visit the country because then-Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had rejected the plan.

The city that left a mark on your heart

The city of Mosul, as told in the book, was “a wound in the Pope’s heart.” Francisco described how deeply the city affected him. Seeing Mosul from a helicopter, the sight hit him like “a punch in the gut.” The historic ancient city, once a place of coexistence imbued with centuries of tradition and civilization, had been reduced to ruins during the three-year reign of ISIS. From above, Mosul seemed to him an “X-ray image of hate.”

Warnings

In the book, the Pope also revealed that as soon as he landed in Baghdad, police informed Vatican security that British intelligence had relayed a warning: a young female suicide bomber was heading to Mosul with the intention of immolating herself during the visit of the Pope. Furthermore, a truck had been started at full speed for the same purpose.

Despite these threats, the trip went as planned.

The “joy and honor” of meeting al-Sistani

Reflecting on his visit to Najaf, Pope Francis said his meeting with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani “filled his soul with joy and honor.”

He described al-Sistani’s decision to welcome him into his home as more eloquent than any word, statement or document, as it embodied friendship and a shared sense of belonging to a human family.

The Holy Father brought with him something that al-Sistani described as “precious grace”: “People are brothers in faith or equals in humanity.”

The day after his meeting with al-Sistani, the Pope asked the Vatican security services about the two reported attacks. The commander responded succinctly: “They no longer exist.”

This response also left a mark on the Pope because those attacks, he noted, were the bitter fruit of a poisonous war but ultimately dissipated.

Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in ACI MENA.