MOSUL – The Latest on Pope Francis' historic visit to Iraq, aimed at rallying the country's long-beleaguered Christian community and promoting interreligious tolerance (all times local): 9:30 a.m.
The stage in Mosul where Pope Francis will speak is surrounded by the bombed-out ruins of churches and other buildings destroyed in the climactic battle of the war against the Islamic State group.
The pope is expected to pray for Iraq's war victims in the country's second-largest city, which was ruled by the extremists for nearly three years.
Iraqi and international forces liberated Mosul in 2017 following months of street-by-street battles. With the rubble as backdrop, Francis is expected to make a powerful appeal to Iraq's Christians to remain