Pope Francis was target of attempted suicide attack on 2021 trip to Iraq, he says

‘A woman packed with explosives…was heading to Mosul to blow herself up,’ pontiff recalls in upcoming autobiography; would-be bombers apparently killed by police, Francis says

By Reuters and ToI Staff 17 December 2024, 5:02 pm

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Pope Francis shakes hands with officials after their meeting for the Pope's departure ceremony at the Ajaccio airport, on the French island of Corsica, December 15, 2024. (Ludovic Marin; Pool via AP)

Pope Francis has revealed he was the target of an attempted suicide bombing during his visit to Iraq three years ago, the first by a Catholic pontiff to the country and probably the riskiest foreign trip of his 11-year papacy.

In an excerpt published on Tuesday from a forthcoming autobiography, Francis said he was informed by police after landing in Baghdad in March 2021 that at least two known suicide bombers were targeting one of his planned events.

“A woman packed with explosives, a young kamikaze, was heading to Mosul to blow herself up during the papal visit,” wrote the pontiff, according to an excerpt from the book in the Italian daily Corriere della Sera. “And a van had also set off at full speed with the same intent.”

Francis’s visit to Mosul was a key moment during his Iraq trip. Iraq’s second-largest city had been under the control of Islamic State from 2014 to 2017. The pope visited the ruins of four destroyed churches there and launched an appeal for peace.

During the trip, the Vatican provided few details about the security preparations for the pope. Many of the events during his visit, which took place as the COVID-19 pandemic was first easing, were open only to a limited number of people.

Iraq is known to have deployed thousands of additional security personnel to protect Francis.

Pope Francis, surrounded by shells of destroyed churches, attends a prayer for the victims of war at Hosh al-Bieaa Church Square, in Mosul, Iraq, March 7, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

The Vatican did not immediately respond to a request for further details about the pope’s new comments.

Francis’s new autobiography, entitled “Hope,” is due to be published on January 14, 2025.

In the excerpt published on Tuesday, Francis said the Vatican had been informed about the assassination attempt by British intelligence.

The pope said he asked a security official the next day what had happened to the would-be bombers.

“The commander replied laconically: ‘They are no more’,” wrote Francis. “The Iraqi police had intercepted them and blown them up.”

The pope drew headlines earlier this month when, in an excerpt from a different book — titled “Hope Never Disappoints,” based on a series of interviews with the pontiff — Francis said Israel’s campaign against the Hamas terror group in Gaza should be investigated as a possible genocide.

He has also faced criticism for other comments about the ongoing war. Last week, the Vatican removed a Palestinian-sponsored nativity scene, whose dedication the pope had attended, showing the baby Jesus lying on a keffiyeh after backlash.

He is set to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday.