Pope visits Iraq’s war-ravaged north on last day of tour

Pope Francis is welcomed by Kurdish President Nechirvan Barzani on arrival at Irbil airport in Iraq on Sunday (Hadi Mizban/AP)

Pope Francis arrived in northern Iraq on Sunday, where he planned to pray in the ruins of churches damaged or destroyed by extremists from the so-called Islamic State (IS) and celebrate an open-air Mass on the last day of the first-ever papal visit to the country.

The Vatican hopes the landmark visit will rally the country’s Christian communities and encourage them to stay despite decades of war and instability.