TEHRAN -- Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Friday penned a letter congratulating Pope Francis on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Jesus Christ and the Gregorian New Year. The president expressed “cordial congratulations” to the head of the Roman Catholic Church and all the Christians across the world on the jubilant birth anniversary of Jesus Christ, the Prophet of peace and kindness and the beginning of New Year. He said the Jesus Christ’s birth is the “manifestation of God’s will and power” and added that the spiritual status of Saint Mary, the Prophet’s mother, shows the lofty position of women in divine religions.