CNA Staff, Mar 6, 2021 / 14:10 pm
Iraq's prime minister on Saturday declared March 6 a National Day of Tolerance and Coexistence in honor of Pope Francis' landmark meeting with the country's top Shiite cleric.
Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi made the announcement via Twitter on March 6 after the meeting between the pope and Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
"In celebration of the historic meeting in Najaf between Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and Pope Francis, and the historic interreligious meeting in the ancient city of Ur, we declare March 6 a National Day of Tolerance and Coexistence in Iraq," he wrote.
The pope visited the 90-year-old al-Sistani at his modest home in Najaf, the third holiest city for Shiite Muslims after Mecca and Medina.