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“It is definitely true that the mentality of ISIS still exists in Iraq and Syria among certain parts of the population.”

“Our goal was to offer young people a place of reconciliation and healing after being displaced by ISIS and living for so many years as refugees.”

“Our life is not without risk, but life won’t stop, risk or no risk. We have to keep going.”

“The nursery is vital to the children … they can develop by interacting together and working together with one another.”

“For Christians here, as well as those living as refugees in Europe and America, this visit gives them hope. With the Pope’s visit, we feel that we are not alone. We feel that we are safe because someone cares about us.”

“Thousands lined the streets to see the Pope as he drove past. Religious sisters were literally dancing on the rooftops. These were people who had come back after being forced to leave their homes because of ISIS. What the Pope saw here were truly the living stones of the Church in Iraq.”

The Christians of Baghdad hope that the Pope’s visit will save their community from the brink of extinction. One Church official told ACN that the number of Catholics in Baghdad was no more than a few hundred, after years of threats and bombings.

“It proves the severe persecution suffered by Christians in Iraq during the years of terror by the ISIS.”

“The Holy Father’s trip to Iraq is such a sign of encouragement, a message of hope to the Iraqi Christians who have been tested in their faith all down the centuries.”

“On one side of the stole is the Lord’s prayer in our language, Syriac, which comes from Aramaic, the original language of Jesus. On the other side is the Hail Mary.”