Pope Francis sends open letter to Pope Tawadros II

CAIRO- 10 May 2017: Pope Francis addressed an open letter on Wednesday to Egypt's Pope Tawadros II, who is currently Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of Saint Mark, to thank Tawadros for his hospitality and for their "moving meeting and common prayers as brothers in Christ" during Pope Francis’s visit to Egypt earlier this month.

The letter was also issued to mark the fourth anniversary of their fraternal meeting in Rome on 10 May 2013.

“I take this opportunity to offer my best wishes for your peace and health, as well as my joy and gratitude for the spiritual bonds uniting the See of Peter and the See of Mark,” Pope Francis wrote in the letter published on Vatican News on Wednesday.


Pope Francis expressed his appreciation of Pope Tawadros's efforts at establishing the baptismal unity between the Orthodox and Catholic doctrines for Egyptian Christians.
“I assure Your Holiness of my continued prayers for you, and for peace in Egypt and the Middle East.

In this Easter season I pray that the Holy Spirit, the strength and tenderness of God, may fill our hearts with His grace and kindle in them the fire of His love. May the Spirit of peace bestow on us an increase of hope, friendship and harmony,” Pope Francis added in his letter.

May 10 marks the fourth anniversary of the visit of Pope Tawadros II to the Vatican in 2013, which become known as “the day of friendship between the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church.”

On April 28, Pope Francis made a two-day visit to Egypt, where he met with Pope Tawadros II, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb.