Pope Francis on April 7 extended a special welcome to students from the Mar Qardakh International School in Erbil following the Regina Caeli prayer at Saint Peter’s Square.

“I greet all of you, Romans and pilgrims from Italy and from many countries. In particular, I greet the students of the Mar Qardakh Catholic School in Erbil, capital of Iraqi Kurdistan,” he said, addressing the crowd from the window of his study in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace.

Mar Qardakh International School is a private, Catholic co-educational day school in Ankawa, Erbil. 

On Instagram, the Mar Qardakh International School said students from the school attended the prayer at Saint Peter’s Square in Vatican City during a trip through the heart of Rome.

Today in St. Peter square, the Holy @Pontifex greets the students from @Mar_Qardakh international school of #Erbil visiting #Rome pic.twitter.com/3m5yunKyCf

— Italy in KRI (@ItalyinKRI) April 7, 2024

The Consulate of Italy in Erbil also posted about the welcome on X.

The Vatican and the Kurdistan Region enjoy warm relations.

In 2005, then-Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani visited the Vatican and was greeted by Pope John Paul II. 

On February 24, 2011, Pope Benedict welcomed President Masoud Barzani on another visit.

On February 19, 2020 Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani presented Pope Francis with a painting depicting religious coexistence in the Kurdistan Region during a visit to the Vatican.

In March 2021, Pope Francis traveled to the Kurdistan Region and met with senior officials. On March 7, he held mass for a crowd of thousands of people in the Franso Hariri Stadium in Erbil.