The Chaldean Patriarch of Baghdad, Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, said with emotion that most of the Iraqi population has been distressed by Pope Francis’ extended hospitalization and that even “Muslims are praying for his recovery.”
Sako revealed that both the current Iraqi prime minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudan, and Mustafa Abdellatif Mshatat, a politician who was in office when the pope traveled to the country in March 2021, have personally called him to inquire about the Holy Father’s health.
“They were very concerned and asked me to convey their closeness to him; I did so through the secretariat of state,” the cardinal explained in a statement to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.
Sako said with emotion that all the Chaldean churches and convents pray for Pope Francis every day. “He is also our father, not only of the Latin Church, and every day we await the medical report,” he explained.
The cardinal emphasized that Muslims, too, have wanted to show their closeness to him.
“Many Muslims contact me every day to find out how he is,” he continued, adding that they hold dear the memory of the Holy Father’s visit to this country four years ago, in March of 2021.
“No one forgets it. Those were three days when we were like in paradise, without attacks, bombs, or deaths from war,” he recalled.
The prelate also noted that Al-Kadhimi went all out for Pope Francis’ visit, having “the streets decorated and music played to create a festive atmosphere.” “Everywhere there were pictures of the Holy Father and the Vatican flag,” he added.
Sako was on a pilgrimage last week to Ur, the birthplace of Abraham, the common father of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. This town in southern Iraq is considered one of the most important sacred sites for Christianity in ancient Mesopotamia.
“We made the Stations of the Cross for Pope Francis, all the priests from Baghdad together with about 20 nuns, and there were also some Muslims with us. It was truly a beautiful moment,” he related.
South Sudan is also praying for the Holy Father
South Sudan is another country that fondly remembers Pope Francis’s visit in early 2023 and continues to pray for him during these difficult times.
The bishop of the Diocese of Bentiu, Christian Carlassare, who was in charge of some of the preparations and organized a 250 mile pilgrimage with the country’s youth to prepare for the pope’s arrival, assured that the South Sudanese “love him very much.”
“They didn’t just warmly embrace him when he visited them two years ago. They know that the pope’s heart is in South Sudan and all the peripheries of the world,” he noted.
Likewise, no one will forget the gesture of peace Pope Francis made in April 2019 when he organized a spiritual retreat at the Vatican with the then president of South Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayardit, and his opponent, Riek Machar.
During his trip to the country, the second stop on his journey to Central Africa after spending three days in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the pope vehemently criticized the violence, which has been seared into that society’s conscience.
“These are years of wars and conflicts that seem to have no end. Violent clashes have even recently been recorded, while reconciliation processes and promises of peace remain unfulfilled,” Pope Francis said upon landing in Juba.
All the parishes in the country are praying for his recovery. “All the churches are praying the rosary, remembering the Holy Father especially in this time of fatigue and illness,” he said.
Carlassare said the people feel the pope’s “strong presence despite the weakness of his body.” “It is the light of a person who is spontaneous, who is present, who loves Christ and loves his Church,” he concluded.
Indonesia: interfaith prayers for pope’s health
In addition, young Indonesians of different faiths have also wanted to join the prayers arriving from around the world to the tenth floor of Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where the pontiff remains hospitalized with double pneumonia.
“In a gesture of unity and hope, young people and leaders of different religions gathered at Hati Indonesia, the geodesic dome of the Scholas Ocurrentes center created by young people from the movement, to offer interfaith prayers for the health of Pope Francis,” the movement said in a statement.
This space, inaugurated by the Holy Father in August of last year during his apostolic visit to Indonesia, has become a symbol of the encounter between cultures and religions.
On this occasion, Muslims, Christians, Hindus, and Buddhists gathered to pray together for the Holy Father’s “speedy recovery.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
