Archbishop Udo Markus Bentz of Paderborn has arrived in the Iraqi capital Baghdad this morning. As President of the Working Group on the Middle East of the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK) and the German Commission Justitia et Pax, Mgr Bentz wishes to send a signal of solidarity to the Christians remaining in Iraq. This is the first trip to Iraq by a German prelate since 2018: a year ago, a trip was cancelled for security reasons. “But now, I would like to tell Christians in Iraq that we stand by their side. Iraq has recovered from the years of terror of the Islamic State, but is still looking for peaceful coexistence between religions and confessions”, Mgr Bentz said upon his arrival. In Baghdad, the German prelate will meet with the Patriarch of the Chaldean Church, Raphaël I Sako, and the Latin Archbishop of the capital, Mgr Jean Benjamin Sleiman. He will then visit the Syrian Catholic cathedral and an ecumenical workshop for young people organised by the Pro Oriente Foundation. Moreover, he will learn about Caritas projects during talks at the German Embassy to understand “to what extent the reconstruction of Christian communities has been successful and where support is still needed, including at international level”. Recalling the key role of the Church in national reconciliation, Mgr Bentz said we should not “lose sight of Iraq, the cradle of both civilization and early Christianity”. The archbishop is set to continue his visit in northern Iraq: he will meet public administrators and members of the numerous Christian denominations in the Kurdish city of Erbil, and will learn more about the reconstruction programmes promoted by the Churches and opportunities for Christians to return to the region. He will then travel to the Nineveh Plain, namely to Qaraqosh and Mosul, where the Caliphate was proclaimed in 2014. Finally, he is also scheduled to visit the Yazidi Shrine of Lalish.