Amid Coptic traditional chants and ululations of jubilation, the Coptic Orthodox church of the Holy Virgin and St Catherine in the district of Nasriya, west of Alexandria, welcomed the relics of St Catherine in a ceremonial procession, and placed them in a specially built shrine in the church.
The procession proceeded to the drumbeat of the scout team, ushering the clerics who took turn to carry the relics of St Catherine which had been encased in a small silver box that was in turn housed in a wooden cylinder, anointed with sweet spices, and placed in a red velvet cover. The deacons and congregation chanted hymns and praises to the saint.
Fr Abraam Emil, papal delegate of Alexandria and the priest at St Mark’s Cathedral, explained that Pope Francis had gifted thhe Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II with part of the of relics of St Catherine of Alexandria during Pope Tawadros’s visit to the Vatican in May 2023.
Pope Tawadros and Pope Francis exchange gifts: relics of 21 and St Catherine of Alexandria
Part of the relics, Fr Abra’am said, were placed next to St Mark’s relics at St Mark’s Cathedral in Alexandria. Another part has been placed at the church of the Holy Virgin and St Catherine in Nassriya, the only Coptic Orthodox church named after the saint in Alexandria, according to Fr Abraam. A third part, he said, was sent to the Coptic convent of St Catherine and St Verena in California.
St Catherine was an Egyptian Christian young woman from Alexandria who was martyred for her faith in 307 AD.
Watani International
13 December 2023