Intense preparations ahead of Pope’s visit to Iraq

Father Nazeer Dako places a poster welcoming Pope Francis to St Joseph’s Chaldean Church in preparation for the Pope’s visit, in Baghdad, Iraq (AP)

Intense preparations are being carried out as the Pope prepares to meet a revered Shia cleric in Iraq’s holiest city.

Francis and Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani will seek to make history in Najaf with a message of coexistence in an area plagued by bitter divisions.