Iraq dedicates a statue to John Paul II

April 28, 2014 - ‎Chaldean Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako presided over a Mass on the eve of Sunday’s canonization of ‎Popes John XXIII and John Paul II to unveil a statue of John Paul in the Church of the Virgin Mary ‎Queen of the Rosary in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. The Patriarch was unable to be present in Rome for ‎Sunday’s canonization, as extra security measures ahead of April 28-30 elections closed down airports. ‎Hence Catholics organized a local celebration in honor of the two new saints. Patriarch Sako had ‎asked a prayer he had published for good outcome of the elections, to be recited in churches throughout ‎the country during the Easter Vigil.‎