APOSTOLIC JOURNEY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS TO EGYPT
(28-29 APRIL 2017)
COURTESY VISIT TO H.H. POPE TAWADROS II
ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE TAWADROS II TO POPE FRANCIS*
Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate, Cairo
Friday, 28 April 2017
Your Holiness, beloved brother Pope Francis;
We welcome Your Holiness to our country Egypt, the country of history and civilization, where the West meets the Orient, since the early history, where the eternal river of the Nile flows in the midst of our land teaching Egyptian people moderation.
We welcome you in Egypt the shelter of refuge where the holy family came and stayed for over than three years and covered its ground from East and West blessing the land and the people. We also welcome your Holiness in our Church, the spring of monasticism, the mother of martyrs and the cradle of the school of Alexandria, the beacon of theology in history.
Your visit today is a new step on the path of love and brotherhood between nations, you are a symbol of the peace in a world shattered with conflicts and wars. A world eager for sincere efforts in spreading peace and love, renouncing violence and extremism ... so welcome to our beloved Egypt that sheds the precious blood of its youth to remain the land of peace. So welcome to the Pope of peace in the land of peace.
As we receive you in the patriarchal residence, we remember with a sense of love and joy your generosity during my visit to the Vatican City, four years ago, where we found a man full of God's spirit. In the company of our delegation, we have all touched your endless efforts to enhance and maintain relations between two of the oldest apostolic sees: the see of Peter and the see of Mark, which shall be highly regarded and appreciated.
Your Holiness,
Our choice of the 10th of May, 2013 was not random; we were keen that this visit happens on the same day when Pope Shenoudah III met with your predecessor, the Roman Pontiff Paul VI. From here was the establishment of the annual tradition of “Brotherly Love Day”, which we held alternatively between the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church in Egypt where we pray together, exchange thoughts and visions and share agape.
The date of your visit has also a spiritual significance, your arrival in the Eastern Time, brings to mind the story of the two disciples of Emmaus, where the bible says “As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them” (Luke 24:15). The dialogue between Eastern Churches and the Catholic Church will celebrate shortly its 15th anniversary, the members of this dialogue share the same conviction that represents the will of God: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).
Hence we say, the unity in the world of today comes as the most clear and important Christian testimony that we can offer. That is why, Your Holiness, we look forward to the day where we break bread together on the holy altar, and that day where all the Churches of the world ring together celebrating the nativity and resurrection of our Saviour in a wholesome body and spirit.
It is also a blessed opportunity to thank the Catholic Church for what it has offered the Egyptian people in the intellectual field: the concerted efforts in education of the De La Salle Brothers, or the Jesuits Fathers, and the Sacred Heart Nuns; we have to mention also the Dominican fathers and the efforts they are doing in research and in regards to the dialogue between the Orient and the West through their institute and convent in Cairo, in addition to many other religious Catholic congregations that have been present in Egypt and have relished a modern experience to its methods and authenticity to its content, participating in the service of all the children of the society regardless of their religion and their ethnicity.
Another thanks to your Church, on behalf of many Coptic Egyptians abroad who celebrated their feasts and prayed joyfully on Catholic altars, where cardinals and bishops spared no effort in opening their churches for our sons and daughters to practice their prayers in a Christian unity and real communion, and for that we are extremely grateful.
Your Holiness,
We also want to express our appreciation to your beloved person and your role on the international arena that became clear from the early beginning of your Papacy. The choice of the name of Saint Francis of Assisi bears much significance, which was confirmed with the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium and the Encyclical Laudato si’, and with every speech you have given; you were the tocsin reminding the world of the Lord that created the man in his image and likeness.
That is how you have followed the same path as your patron Francis of Assisi, who also came to Egypt and had one of the first and most prominent experiences of Dialogue in history with Sultan Alkamil. Now you are renewing it, confirming that dialogue is the way and bridge extended between nations and each other, and that dialogue is the remaining hope for humanity until the end of time.
Your Holiness,
Maybe your answer to the many invitations to come to Egypt, and predominantly, the invitation of His Excellency President Abd Elfattah Elsissy, which represented an invitation from all the Egyptian people, is the strongest message for the world to see and perceive Egypt as a pioneer example in understanding and respecting one another.
We have lived in this country next to each other for fifteen centuries, yes, we have witnessed some hard times and troubles, but these were like fire that purifies silver. Every time the people have proved that love and forgiveness are stronger than hatred and revenge, and that hope is greater with its light than the darkness of despair.
As Your Holiness knows, our Church and nation have witnessed a tragic experience in the last few months, terrorism has shown its ugly face again killing innocent people. We are mourning them and laying them to rest safely with their Saviour.
This abhorring act has left our nation in grief, and an entire country in mourning. However, because we are under God’s protection, his tender hand touched our hearts solacing it with many sincere images that showed the real nature of Egyptian people, that are united in joy and pain, announcing to the whole world that our concern is mutual.
Your Holiness,
This is how Egypt is since the dawn of history: an oasis of peace, cradle of heavenly messages, a refuge for the afraid, and a country of calmness and safety, announcing that its heaven could contain everyone in peace till the end of time.
Once more, we thank your Holiness for this visit, hoping that you would repeat it soon. Last but not least, I assure Your Holiness that you are always in my personal prayers and you will always be kept in our hearts with prayer and love.
Pope of peace, welcome in the land of peace!
* Unofficial translation