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.