Pope Francis’ April 28-29 trip to Egypt was full of ironies, among them a Catholic pope being received as a hero in an overwhelmingly Muslim nation, and the fact that one of the world’s most spontaneous and people-loving figures spent most of his time surrounded by a thick security cocoon enforced by the Egyptian military and security services.
During his two-day trip to Egypt, Pope Francis met with Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II and lit a candle outside St. Peter’s Church, Cairo; spoke at an international conference on peace; met Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and government officials; and celebrated Mass for the faithful.
Placing flowers, lighting a candle and praying at the site where Coptic Orthodox Christians were killed by an Islamic State militant last year, Pope Francis and Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II paid homage to those killed for their faith.
Calling his visit to Egypt a journey of “unity and fraternity,” Pope Francis launched a powerful call to the nation’s religious leaders to expose violence masquerading as holy and condemn religiously inspired hatred as an idolatrous caricature of God.
Pope Francis accepted the early retirement request of Italian Bishop Gianfranco Todisco, who begged to be allowed to return to missionary work or to be sent “to the farthest, most disadvantaged” diocese.
Pope Francis shakes hands with Fox News television host Bill O’Reilly during his general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican April 19.
Despite the ongoing risk of terrorism, Pope Francis planned to travel to Egypt as a sign of being close to the people there, said Greg Burke, Vatican spokesman.
With tens of thousands of people gathered in St. Peter’s Square April 16, Pope Francis called on Christians to be instruments of Christ’s outreach to refugees and migrants, victims of war and exploitation, famine and loneliness.
A New Jersey teen pleaded guilty April 3 of plotting an attack on Pope Francis during the pontiff’s visit to Philadelphia in 2015 during the World Meeting of Families.
Despite recent and repeated terrorist attacks against Egypt’s minority Christian communities, Pope Francis will not cancel his visit to Egypt.
