Bells toll for Francis in jihadist-scarred Iraq

Church bells tolled in Mosul and nearby towns Monday to mark the death of Pope Francis, the first pope to visit Iraq which suffered greatly at the hands of jihadists.

In the historic Al-Tahera church in the nearby town of Qaraqosh, where the Pope prayed in 2021, dozens of worshippers gathered for an Easter mass which also became an occasion to pay tribute to their beloved Francis.

Near the altar stood an empty wooden chair on which the pope had sat when he declared in a mass that he had…