Pope Tawadros visits Lebanon, then the Vatican

CAIRO – 23 June 2018: Pope Tawadros of Egypt was received by The President of Lebanon Michel Aoun at the presidential resident Baabda Palace to inaugurate a patriarchal residence Friday, a few weeks before the Patriarch’s Vatican visit.

Aoun welcomed Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria and Patriarch of Saint Mark, Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and Catholicos Aram I of the Great House of Cilicia, heads the Oriental Orthodox Churches in the Middle East. Then, they participated in the inauguration of the new Patriarchal Residence.


During their meeting, Pope Tawadros assured the respect of the Coptic Orthodox Church to President Aoun, and thanked him for participating in the inauguration of the new Patriarchal Residence.



For his part, President Aoun expressed his happiness to participate in the opening ceremony of the new patriarchal headquarters, wishing that "this opening will be a qualitative leap and a renewed spiritual and humanitarian step forward," the page added.



Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria and Patriarch of Saint Mark intends to visit the Vatican in the coming weeks, heading a delegation from the church, to meet his holiness Pope Francis, an official church source from the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral told Egypt Today.

During a meeting with a delegation of Italian tourists a few days ago, Pope Tawadros announced that he intended to visit the Vatican Pope for the second time, the source added.

Pope Tawadros visited the Vatican for the first time in May 2013, which was the second visit of the Egyptian Church to the Vatican State. Late Coptic Orthodox Pope Shenouda III visited the Vatican in 1973.

Pope Francis visited Egypt on April in a two-day trip where he led a Holy Mass at the Air Defense Stadium in New Cairo. He met Pope Tawadros, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, and urged leaders of all religions to denounce violence and acts of terror committed in God’s name.

The visit in April marked the 70th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Egypt and the Holy See.

Pope Francis described Egypt as a land of cohabitation and hospitality. He added that it is a land that encountered histories and civilization; he also passed on his blessing on Egyptians and prayed for Egypt’s protection from all sorts of evil and terrorism.

Catholic pilgrimage to Egypt to initiate after Pope's blessing

CAIRO - 4 October 2017: Over thousands of years, Egypt had witnessed the succession of philosophies and religious beliefs; it is considered the cradle of Abrahamic religions as well as being a major part of what has been called the "cradle of civilization."

Pope Francis became the first Roman Catholic Pontiff to visit Egypt since Pope John Paul II in 2000.



President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi received the Catholic pontiff at the presidential Ittihadya palace on April 28, 2017 as Pope Francis forged ahead with a two-day trip to Egypt – Press photo.jpg