Two assassination attempts on Pope Francis were foiled during his historical trip to Iraq in March 2021. The Pope was aware of the danger, as revealed in his autobiography “Hope”, excerpts of which were published by the magazine “Stern”.
In the book, the head of the Catholic Church reveals details about the events for the first time: “We had already been warned of the danger the day before our arrival in Baghdad. The police had passed on to the Vatican’s security department information from the English intelligence services: a young woman with explosives was on her way to Mosul to blow herself up during the Pope’s visit, and a delivery van was on its way with the same goal in mind.”
Although almost everyone had advised him against the trip, the Pope spent four days in Iraq. In his autobiography, he explains his motivations: “I felt I had to do it.” Pope John Paul II had had to cancel his trip twenty years earlier. Pope Francis did not want to disappoint the faithful.
As the Pope inquired about the two would-be attackers at the end of the trip, the security official replied, “They are no longer there.” The Iraqi police had intercepted and killed them with the explosives. “And that too has deeply moved me, for such is the poisoned fruit of war” writes Pope Francis.