Pope Francis revealed he survived a double suicide bombing attempt during his historic 2021 Iraq visit after British intelligence and Iraqi police foiled the plots, according to reporting by The Guardian.
In his forthcoming autobiography "Spera" (Hope), excerpts of which were shared with Corriere della Sera on Tuesday, the 88-year-old pontiff detailed how the assassination attempts were prevented during his landmark trip.
Despite strong warnings against traveling to Iraq in March 2021 due to raging COVID-19 cases and severe security risks, particularly in the northern city of Mosul, Francis proceeded with what would become the first papal visit to the country. British intelligence alerted Iraqi police about the planned attacks immediately after Francis landed in Baghdad, with Iraqi authorities subsequently informing Vatican security.
One would-be attacker was identified as a woman planning to detonate explosives during the papal visit to Mosul. "A truck was also heading there fast with the same intention," Francis wrote in the autobiography, co-authored with Italian writer Carlo Musso and set for January publication.
When Francis later inquired about the bombers' fate, he received a terse response from security. "The commander replied laconically: 'They're no longer here.' Iraqi police had intercepted them and made them explode. This struck me as well: Even this is the poisonous fruit of war."
The pontiff completed his three-day tour of six Iraqi cities, describing himself as "a pilgrim of peace." The visit came after thousands of Christians in northern Iraq were killed under Islamic State control between 2014 and 2017, with hundreds of thousands more fleeing violence and persecution.
Speaking amid the ruins of a Mosul church, Francis called on the country's diminishing Christian population to forgive past injustices and focus on rebuilding.
The visit saw the deployment of 10,000 Iraqi police officers, with curfews enacted to control the COVID-19 spread.
While initially planned for posthumous release, the autobiography will now be released on December 24, the beginning of Jubilee 2025, a 25-year Catholic celebration of faith renewal. Publisher Mondadori notes that this marks the first papal autobiography, though Francis has authored other memoir-style works.
