'Jubilant' Iraqi Christians greet Pope Francis in cities once occupied by ISIS

Pope Francis on Sunday was greeted by thousands of Iraqi Christians as he toured parts of the country's northern region that were once held by the Islamic State, including Mosul, a major city The Associated Press notes was once considered the heart of the so-called caliphate.

"How cruel it is that this country, the cradle of civilization, should have been afflicted by so barbarous a blow, with ancient places of worship destroyed and many thousands of people — Muslims, Christians, Yazidis — who were cruelly annihilated by terrorism," Francis said in Mosul while surrounded by four hollowed-out churches nearly destroyed in the war to oust ISIS. "Today, however, we reaffirm our conviction that fraternity is more durable than fratricide, that hope is more powerful than hatred, that peace more powerful than war."

Francis urged Iraq's Christians, a dwindling minority population, to both "forgive" and not "give up" along the way to a "full recovery." He also emphasized the assistance Mosul's Muslims provided to returning Christians, and prayed for the Yazidis, an ethnic minority that was brutally targeted by ISIS.

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In Qaraqosh, a formerly ISIS-occupied Christian-majority town, journalists captured the "jubilant" atmosphere ahead of Francis' arrival. He then led a prayer service in a newly-refurbished church that had been gutted by ISIS. Tim O'Donnell