By Chrysanthus Ikeh
Speaking at the St. Peter’s Square, where he delivered his ‘Urbi et Orbi’ (to the city and the World) blessing and message, marking the second Christmas since his election in 2013, he said:
‘I ask him, the Saviour of the world, to look upon our brothers and sisters in Iraq and Syria, who for too long now have suffered the effects of ongoing conflict, and who, together with those belonging to other ethnic and religious groups, are suffering a brutal persecution’
‘May Christmas bring them hope, as indeed also to the many displaced persons, exiles and refugees, children, adults and elderly, from this region and from the whole world,’
Pope Francis, whose real name is Jorge Mario Bergoglio, is the is the 266th Pope and current head of the Catholic Church.
