They lifted their hands to heaven. They crowded in aisles. They brought their children, who sang in Aramaic, the ancient language of Christ. The women covered their heads respectfully in lace mantillas, reminiscent of the days when Mass in the West was said in Latin.

But most of all, the Baghdad Catholics prayed for peace, a peace which seems more distant as the city braces itself for what will surely be a bloody and violent war.

Once Iraqi bravado prevailed in the souks and the streets. No one believed that war would come again. Now people are visibly frightened: actively preparing, saying their goodbyes, sending children to Jordan, stocking their kitchens, saving water and petrol.

For Christians, who account for 3 per cent of Iraq’s population, Cardinal Etchegaray’s mission of peace, which will include a visit to President Saddam Hussein to deliver a personal letter from the Pope, was a small sign of hope in the midst of a sea of desperation.

“The anguish under which you live doesn’t cease to grow during these days,” the Cardinal said at the two-hour Mass, which included ancient Chaldean rites. “We are gathered here to show the extent of how much peace and prayers are truly linked to each other.”

The Cardinal, a Basque who is renowned for his close relationship with the Pope and for being able to bypass Vatican politics, is a frequent visitor to troubled places. He has travelled in the name of peace to Vietnam, East Timor, Mexico and Algeria. In May, after the siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethelehem, he brought words of peace and condolence.

This is his third visit to Iraq. The first was in 1985 during the Iraq-Iran War, when he tried to negotiate the exchange of prisoners. He returned in 1998 to determine whether a papal visit was feasible. His latest visit comes at a time when Iraqis, who have already suffered from nearly 12 years of sanctions, feel vulnerable and isolated.

“Who can stop crying, listening to his words?” said Suad Rezuki, a pensioner who left the church briefly to light a candle in front of a small grotto of the Virgin Mary. Tears ran down her face as she struggled to express herself. “Day and night, I am praying now. I believe prayer is the only thing that can save us. Hearing his words makes me feel safer.”

The Cardinal gave a homily in French, which was translated into Aramaic, invoking the power of prayer and reassuring the heaving congregation that the world had not forgotten them. The parishioners consisted of the old, the sick, teenagers, families, the dwindling remnants of the diplomatic community, including the French Ambassador, and some human shields with badges identifying themselves. In one row, senior Baath Party officials sat solemnly listening to the Cardinal’s words.

When he greeted the parishioners, saying “Salaam, Salaam” — the Arabic for peace — the church broke into thunderous applause.

“I said a prayer during the Mass for God to help us in this dirty war,” Leila Kheder, a retired accountant, said.

The Cardinal, who arrived on a United Nations aircraft, will stay for several days in Baghdad. He has seen Taha Yassin Ramadan, the Iraqi Vice-President, and Tariq Aziz, the Deputy Prime Minister. The date of a meeting with the President has not yet been set, but he said that his one-hour meeting with Mr Aziz and Mr Ramadan was “in itself a sign of the interest that we both have in listening to each other, in hearing each other, in listening to points of view which all converge on a just peace”.

In the cafés of old Baghdad, where men sit smoking apple-flavoured nargila water pipes and families dress in their best to celebrate the Eid holiday, the talk is of nothing but the forthcoming “aggression”. But for two hours in a crowded, stuffy cathedral in the heart of the city, people forgot their fear and anxieties and prayed together for peace.

DEBATE

Can papal diplomacy be a stronger influence than the UN?

E-mail your views to debate@thetimes.co.uk

Explore World News

• Iraq News

• US & Americas News

• Europe News

• Middle East News

• Asia News

• Africa News

• Ireland News

Times Recommends

• The truth behind Obama's meteoric ascent
• Christians flee Iraq amid religious cleansing
• Aid agencies: 5m face starvation in Zimbabwe