Pope Francis said he was nearly assassinated during a visit to Iraq in 2021. Two assassination attempts were planned against him, but they were foiled by British intelligence and Iraqi police.
The pontiff shared this story in his upcoming autobiography, Spera (“Hope”), excerpts of which were obtained by the Corriere della Sera newspaper on Francis’ 88th birthday.
According to the Pope, he was strongly advised not to travel to Iraq in March 2021 because the Covid pandemic was raging at the time, especially in the city of Mosul, where he was headed.
But the Pope said he would continue his trip anyway. As soon as Francis arrived in Baghdad, British intelligence alerted Iraqi police to the planned attacks. One of the suicide bombers was a woman who was heading to Mosul to blow herself up during the papal visit.
Francis later asked the Vatican security service what had happened to the suicide bombers.
“The commander replied succinctly: ʼThey are no longer here.’ The Iraqi police intercepted them and forced them to blow themselves up. That struck me too: even this is the poisonous fruit of war,” his book says.
Francis continued his three-day trip to six Iraqi cities, saying at the time that he was traveling as a “pilgrim of peace.” He was guarded by 10 000 Iraqi police officers and the country was under a curfew to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Speraʼs autobiography was originally planned to be published after Francisʼ death, but it was decided to time its release to coincide with the start of the Jubilee Year of 2025, a year of celebration for Catholics around the world. The Pope officially opens the event, which takes place every 25 years, on December 24.
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