Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Mar Beshara Boutros Rai left for the Iraqi city of Irbil to stand on the conditions of Iraqi refugees, mainly Christians.
At least 15,000 mostly Christian Iraqis were forced to leave their homes as militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant are continuing to seize cities in northern Iraq.
The ISIL militants have now taking control of Mosul, Tikrit and other cities.