Angelo Carconi / EPA
Pope Francis
“As soon as I landed, the police communicated to the Vatican information that had arrived from the English secret services: a young kamikaze woman wearing an explosive vest was going to blow herself up during the papal visit.” When Francis visited Mosul.
The book “Esperança” will only be released in 2025, but it is already known that the biographical work of Pope Francis, anticipated by publisher Nascente à , describes remarkable — and terrifying — moments of the visit of the person responsible for the Church to Iraq.
In the biography, Francisco explains that the trip to the city of Mosulin 2021, was advised against by several sources due to the high risk of attacks. Before leaving for Baghdad, there had already been violent attacks and, upon landing, the British secret services informed the Vatican of a imminent threat: a young woman, wearing an explosive vest, was heading towards Mosul with the intention of attacking the Pope. A van with explosives served the same purpose.
“As soon as I landed in Baghdad, the police communicated to Vatican Security information that had arrived from the British secret services: a woman wearing an explosive vest, a young kamikaze girl, was heading towards Mosul to blow herself up during the papal visit. And a van also left at full speed with the same intention”, reads the work, which will be launched in January in Portugal.
Despite the threats, Francisco continued with the visit.
When flying over Mosul, he described the city as a “radiography of hate”a devastating testament to the impact of three years of occupation by the Islamic State. One of the oldest cities and a symbol of cultural and religious coexistence, Mosul was reduced to rubble, the Pope describes: “it was a wound in the heart”.
“It hit me like a punch, right in the helicopter: one of the oldest cities in the world, teeming with history and traditions, which over time had seen the coming together of different civilizations and had been the emblem of peaceful coexistence between different cultures in the same country — Arabs, Kurds, Armenians, Turkmens, Christians, Syrians —, appeared before my eyes like an expanse of rubble, after three years of occupation by the Islamic state, which had chosen it as a fortress. As I flew over it, I saw it from above like an x-ray of hatred.”
The visit program was carried out without incident, thanks to the action of the Iraqi police, who intercepted and neutralized the threats. Francisco reflects on the suffering caused by war, considering it “a poisoned fruit”.
The visit included moments of great symbolism, such as prayer in Ur, the land of Abraham, and a meeting with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, spiritual leader of Shiite Islam, episodes that sought to reinforce the message of interreligious dialogue and hope.
“Hope”, initially conceived for posthumous publication, was brought forward due to the Jubilee of 2025 and the relevance of Francis’ messages for current times. It is launched in January in Portugal.
