Egypt to set tourist program to recreate Holy Family journey

CAIRO – 12 June 2018: The Coptic Orthodox Church will receive from June 17 to June 21 the second Italian tourist delegation that will participate in the pilot program for dramatic reenactment of the journey made by the Holy Family in Egypt.

Nader Girgis, member of the Holy Family Marketing Committee, said the delegation includes 50 tourists, headed by the Bishop of the Italian city of Viterbo, who will visit the five places included in the Holy Family journey's program.

The Tourism Ministry has devised the program to encourage tourists to visit the country to see a unique artistic rendition of the religious story and to trace the journey’s trail that covers many Egyptian cities that Virgin Mary, Jesus and Joseph had visited while fleeing King Herod’s persecution in Palestine.

On Oct. 4, Pope Francis organized a special greeting in Rome for a high-level Egyptian delegation led by Tourism Minister Yahya Rashid to promote a pilgrimage in the footsteps of the Holy Family’s Flight into Egypt.

The pope’s blessing comes as a mandatory step in the process of initiating the Roman Catholic pilgrimage program to Egypt, which is set to launch next year.

The Flight into Egypt, as mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew, is a biblical event that marks when an angel appeared to St. Joseph in a dream to advise him into fleeing to Egypt with Mary and infant Jesus; the event itself holds a unique iconic representation.