President Nechirvan Barzani receives Vatican envoy, pledges support
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Friday received Miroslaw Wachowski, the Vatican’s new Apostolic Nuncio to Iraq, reaffirming the Kurdistan Region’s “full support” for his mission and stressing the Region’s commitment to coexistence and religious diversity.
President Nechirvan Barzani congratulated Wachowski on assuming the post and wished him success in his duties, reiterating “the full support of the Kurdistan Region for carrying out his duties,” according to a statement from the Kurdistan Region Presidency.
Wachowski has served as Apostolic Nuncio to Iraq since September 2025, following his appointment by Pope Leo XIV. He previously served as undersecretary for relations with states at the Holy See’s Secretariat of State.
For his part, Wachowski “praised the role of President Nechirvan Barzani and the Kurdistan Region in protecting Christians and promoting the culture of coexistence, tolerance, and mutual acceptance,” according to the statement. He also reiterated that “the Vatican looks with importance at the stability and development of the Kurdistan Region.”
Barzani emphasized that the Kurdistan Region “remains an arena for the peaceful coexistence of different religions and components.”
Iraq’s Christian population has sharply declined over the past two decades. Following the US-led invasion in 2003, sectarian violence forced many Christians to flee, while attacks by the Islamic State in 2014 devastated minority communities, particularly in northern Iraq.
According to data obtained by Rudaw English from Bashar Matti Warda, the Chaldean Archbishop of Erbil, fewer than 300,000 Christians remain in Iraq today.
President Nechirvan Barzani congratulated Wachowski on assuming the post and wished him success in his duties, reiterating “the full support of the Kurdistan Region for carrying out his duties,” according to a statement from the Kurdistan Region Presidency.
Wachowski has served as Apostolic Nuncio to Iraq since September 2025, following his appointment by Pope Leo XIV. He previously served as undersecretary for relations with states at the Holy See’s Secretariat of State.
For his part, Wachowski “praised the role of President Nechirvan Barzani and the Kurdistan Region in protecting Christians and promoting the culture of coexistence, tolerance, and mutual acceptance,” according to the statement. He also reiterated that “the Vatican looks with importance at the stability and development of the Kurdistan Region.”
Barzani emphasized that the Kurdistan Region “remains an arena for the peaceful coexistence of different religions and components.”
Iraq’s Christian population has sharply declined over the past two decades. Following the US-led invasion in 2003, sectarian violence forced many Christians to flee, while attacks by the Islamic State in 2014 devastated minority communities, particularly in northern Iraq.
According to data obtained by Rudaw English from Bashar Matti Warda, the Chaldean Archbishop of Erbil, fewer than 300,000 Christians remain in Iraq today.