Yes, news filters through quite slowly for the pontiff. Merely existing as "pope" or "papa" (Spanish, Italian, etc.) is a direct contradiction of Christ in Matthew 23:9 but in this case I was thinking of his taking the opportunity to make some explicit statement. No doubt he'll be performing various actions, kissing things, embracing things, adoring things. Anyway I'm including a rail map (extract from) showing the region so perhaps if he arrives by train he can start showing off at the station, unless the Persians have blown it up. The Euphrates I've done in blue to make it clearer than the large map, linked by clicking the blue map.
One area I'll be paying attention to is how he treats God's account of Abraham and Ishmael. For those rejecting Christ and the sacrifice He became for us, foreshadowed by Abraham's willingness to destroy Isaac in response to God's command which was preemptively curtailed, how can there be any remedy for sin?
II Corinthians 5:18-21 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
For whom will this pope be an ambassador?