Vatican Secretary of State lands in Kurdistan to meet senior Kurdish, Christian leaders

The Secretary of State of the Vatican, Pietro Parolin, arrived in Erbil on Wednesday to meet with senior Kurdish officials, Christian leaders, and members of the Christian community in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Secretary of State of the Vatican, Pietro Parolin, arrived in Erbil on Wednesday to meet with senior Kurdish officials, Christian leaders, and members of the Christian community in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region.

Parolin was received by the Interior Minister Karim Sinjari, the head of Foreign Relations Department Falah Mustafa, and Chaldean Archbishop of Erbil Bishop Warda.

The envoy’s visit comes after his meetings with Iraqi officials, including Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi in Baghdad.

He told reporters at Erbil International Airport (EIA) that they chose Christmas to visit the country to show the support and closeness of Pope Francis to its Christian community.

He noted that they would visit Christians in the Kurdistan Region and “give contributions [to the region] for construction of the society.”

Sinjari praised his visit and stated his presence is important “to witness the reality in the Kurdistan Region on the ground.” 

Parolin is expected to meet senior Kurdish leaders in Erbil and visit Christian communities across the Kurdistan Region.

One day before the dignitary's visit, Iraq's Council of Ministers declared that Dec. 25 would become an annual public holiday throughout the country.

This is the first time that the Iraqi government has announced the observance as a national holiday that includes all citizens after being limited only to Christians for decades. In doing so, the rest of the nation joins the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region that has long included Christmas in its public holidays. 

Since 2014, dozens of thousands of Christians from different parts of Iraq sought refuge in the Kurdistan Region after the emergence of the Islamic State (IS) group in much of the country.  

Vatican City, formally established as a city-state in 1929, is located within Rome and is the smallest independent state in the world. 

Editing by John J. Catherine