Nadia Abdo welcomes Vatican delegation

CAIRO – 23 June 2018: Governor of Beheira, Nadia Abdo, welcomed on Wednesday the first delegation from Vatican City in the archeological monasteries of Wadi El Natrun in Beheira governorate.

The delegation came as part of the program of the Holy Family trip, which is implemented by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism in cooperation with the Vatican.

Abdo assured the intensification of the executive bodies in the governorate to welcome the tourist delegation in Wadi El Natrun. She also announced the pumping of more than LE 20 million from the resources of the governorate to raise the efficiency of the facilities in Wadi El Natrun, according to the preparations made by the governorate in cooperation with all the concerned authorities to develop the archeological area of Wadi El Natrun, such as providing them with vital facilities and various services.


Governor Nadia Abdo welcomes Vatican delegation - Egypt TodayNasser Gouda - Press Photo

Over the past several decades the relationship between Egypt and the Vatican has experienced numerous transformations. On May 10, 1973, the late Pope Shenouda III signed a historic Christological declaration alongside Pope Paul VI in the Vatican, after years of accumulated discord.

Then in the new millennium, Pope John Paul II visited Egypt in an unprecedented pilgrimage. The Pope praised Egypt as a cradle of learning, religion and unity as he embarked on a journey to retrace epic passages from the Bible.

In 2017, Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, received the Minister of Tourism Yahya Rashid along with a delegation of Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi (ORP), which is responsible for pilgrimages to the Vatican. The delegation was chaired by the head of ORP, Monsignor Remo Chiavarini.

Pope Tawadros underscored the support and efforts exerted by the Ministry of Tourism to revive the Holy Family's journey which was blessed by the Vatican and Pope Francis.
Pope Tawadros stressed the good relations between the Catholic Church in the Vatican and the Egyptian Coptic Church.


Nadia Abdo welcomes Vatican delegation - Egypt TodayNasser Gouda and Gamal Abu Al Fadl