Pope Francis was the target of a horrifying assassination plot during a trip to Iraq, according to revelations in his upcoming autobiography.
The attempt on his life was averted following a timely tip-off from British intelligence.
The pontiff set off for a three-day visit to Iraq during the coronavirus pandemic in March 2021.
This was the first time that a Pope had ever visited the country, which had been torn apart by sectarian violence between Shia and Sunni Muslims following the Iraq war.
Part of the reason for his visit was a desire to show solidarity with Iraq’s Christian community, which Islamic State fighters and other Sunni extremists had mercilessly targeted.
Pope Francis said « almost everyone advised me against » the visit but he felt he « had to do it ».
On landing in Baghdad, the Pope was informed that two suicide bombers were targeting him.
Iraqi police had been warned about the plot by British intelligence and had briefed his security personnel about the danger.
Writing in his autobiography « Hope », he revealed: « A woman packed with explosives, a young suicide bomber, was heading towards Mosul to blow herself up during the papal visit.
« And a van had also set off at great speed with the same intention. »
The following day, Pope Francis asked a security official what had happened to the would-be assassins.
« The [official] replied laconically: ‘They are no more’. The Iraqi police had intercepted them and blown them up, » he wrote.
This is not the first time a pontiff has been the target of an assassination attempt.
In May 1981, the then Pope John Paul II was shot by a 23-year-old Turkish man, Mehmet Ali Ağca.
The incident happened as the Pope passed through the thousands of faithful gathered in St Peter’s Square, blessing the crowds from his open Popemobile.
Suddenly, four shots were fired at close range, and John Paul II collapsed into the arms of his aides.
The 60-year-old pontiff, who had been hit in the abdomen, left hand and right arm, was rushed to Rome’s Gemelli hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery.
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