Pope Francis escaped two attacks in Iraq: revelations from autobiography

On the day of his 88th birthday, a dramatic backstory emerges: two suicide bombers stopped during the Pope’s trip to Iraq. The episode recounted in his autobiography ‘Spera’

On the day Pope Francis turns 88, a startling revelation shakes the world: during his trip to Iraq in 2021, the Pope escaped two attacks organised by suicide bombers. This detail was revealed in the Pontiff’s autobiography, entitled ‘Spera’ (Hope), due out in January and anticipated by Corriere della Sera and Repubblica.

In the book, Francis recounts that despite advice to the contrary received from many quarters, he decided to continue with the trip to Iraq, guided by a strong inner conviction. ‘Everyone had advised me against that trip, but I felt I had to go through with it,’ the Pope explains. During the visit, the British secret services had warned the Vatican gendarmerie of the presence of a young female suicide bomber, ready to blow herself up during the Pope’s stop in Mosul. A second attack was planned via a suspicious van on its way to the same stop.

When the Pope asked for information about the alleged bombers, the gendarmerie commander replied: ‘They are no longer there’. The two suicide bombers were intercepted and neutralised by the Iraqi security forces. Francis, deeply affected by the episode, reflects in the book on the absurdity of violence, describing it as a ‘poisoned fruit of war’.

In addition to the background of the trip to Iraq, Repubblica also anticipates some passages in which Francesco retraces his childhood in the Flores barrio of Buenos Aires, where he came into contact with the hardest part of life. He tells how, from an early age, he lived alongside the marginalised, including the neighbourhood prostitutes, known by nicknames such as ‘la Ciche’ and ‘la Porota’. Of the latter, described as a ‘contemporary Magdalene’, the Pope recounts her journey of redemption, managing to change her life together with her sister.

The autobiography, which will be released on 14 January, sheds light on some of the most intense episodes in the life of Pope Francis, offering a never-before-seen perspective on his travels, his past and his deepest reflections.

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