Pope Francis meets Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric

Francis's meeting in the holy southern city of Najaf, during a whirlwind and risky tour of Iraq, marked the first time a pope has met with such a senior Shi'ite cleric.

Sistani is one of the most important figures in Shi'ite Islam, both within Iraq and beyond. He wields enormous influence over politics.

His edicts sent Iraqis to free polls for the first time in 2005, rallied hundreds of thousands of men to fight against Islamic State in 2014 and toppled an Iraqi government under pressure from mass demonstrations in 2019.

Sistani, 90, rarely takes meetings, and has refused talks with Iraq's current and former prime ministers, according to officials close to him. Sistani agreed to meet the pope on condition that no Iraqi officials would be present, said a source in the president's office.

The meeting with Francis took place at Sistani's humble home, which he has rented for decades, located along a narrow alleyway in Najaf.