DUBAI:  Pope Francis spent much of Saturday in the air, touching down in three cities during the second day of his apostolic visit in Iraqi.

He left Baghdad early for Najaf, where he had a historic meeting with Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, one of the leading figures in Shiite Islam.

The meeting marked a landmark moment in modern religious history and in terms of Pope Francis’s efforts to deepen interfaith dialogue.

Sistani’s office put out a statement shortly afterwards thanking Francis for visiting the holy city, and “affirmed his concern that Christian citizens should live like all Iraqis in peace and security, and with their full constitutional rights.”

Pope Francis then returned to the sky to head to Nassiriya, where he traveled by car to Ur – traditional birthplace of the Prophet Abraham, a central figure in the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths – where he made an impassioned plea for ‘unity’ after conflict in a gathering Iraq’s religious communities.

He then flew back to Baghdad, and after a brief rest celebrated the Holy Mass at the Chaldean Cathedral of St. Joseph.

Follow live coverage of his third day itinerary below (All times GMT)

0523: Pope Francis arrives in Irbil, and is welcomed by President Nechirvan Barzani of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan and the civil authorities of the region.