During his visit to the Vatican, Pope Tawadros II was hosted at the Santa Marta Vatican House which is usually designated to host high-ranking visitors to the Vatican. Santa Marta has 120 rooms and suites, and its third floor is home to Pope Francis himself who following his election as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church 10 years ago, preferred to reside in it rather than move to the usual residence of the Vatican popes, the Apostolic Palace.
Pope of Love at St Peter’s
A few hours after Pope Tawadros arrived at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport with his accompanying delegation, they all headed to visit the shrine of St Peter, which is located underneath St Peter’s Basilica. The shrine was built to commemorate the site of the St Peter’s tomb, and is located near the western end of the complex of shrines, which dates back to the period between 130 and 300 AD.
Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity and representatives of the Catholic Church accompanied the Coptic Pope and delegation during the visit. The Vatican officials appeared very eager to receive their guests and warmly welcomed them.
They were keen to open the Basilica’s doors to treat their Egyptian visitors to a full panoramic view of the Vatican City. Pope Tawadros listened intently to the detailed description of the content of St Peter’s Basilica.
While visiting the Basilica, Pope Tawadros affectionately stopped to greet a young Egyptian couple, Nader Emile and his wife Mirna, who were visiting the Basilica; they wished to have their picture taken with the Pope who happily obliged. Mrs Emile said that they were from Seattle and were holidaying in Italy; they never originally planned to visit the Basilica, but she and her husband were delighted they did because they got to meet Pope Tawadros. She was impressed that the Pope just simply stopped to take a picture with them to make them happy. “His Holiness is truly the Pope of love,” she said.
At Pontifical Ethiopian College
Also on 9 May, the Pontifical Ethiopian College in the Vatican City received Pope Tawadros and the Coptic delegation. Rector Abba Heilemikael Beraki was with his students greeting the Coptic Pope and delegation in the Ethiopian College’s foyer with joyful typical Christian Ethiopian hymns. The Pontifical Ethiopian College is the only formative institution of its kind within the Vatican walls; it is a place of knowledge, of communion and of bonding between the Churches in Ethiopia and Eritrea and the Universal Church.
Pope Tawadros said a prayer of thanksgiving and thanked his hosts for the warm reception. He talked to the students and offered them souvenirs, small wooden icons bearing the image of the Holy Family. The Coptic guests were treated to a concert at the College’s foyer, as well as a welcome dinner to which Cardinal Kurt Koch and other high-ranking officials from the Catholic Church were invited. During dinner, Pope Tawadros expressed his heartfelt gratitude for the warm hospitality, and his joy at his exchanges with the students.
“We believe that love is the bond that unites people, and it is the power that enables us to achieve unity and peace in the world,” the Pope said. He highlighted that the Ethiopian Church is a sister Church to the Coptic, reminding that it was the Coptic Pope Athanasius the Apostolic who had sent Abune Salama as the first bishop to serve the Ethiopian people. “We thank God for our good relationship and pray for peace and stability in Ethiopia,” the Pope said. “Our Churches are apostolic churches, and our saints are Saint Peter the Apostle, Saint Mark the Apostle and Saint Takla Hemanot. We rejoice and feel their blessings surround the Churches, along with all the martyrs, for the sake of the world East and West.”
Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel
On the afternoon of 10 May, Pope Tawadros and the Coptic clergy delegation accompanying him visited the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel where they were treated to guided tours explaining the spectacular artistic treasures there, not least being Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam and The Last Judgement.
On 11 May Pope Tawadros met the members of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity. The dicastery has a twofold role: The promotion within the Catholic Church of an authentic ecumenical spirit according to the conciliar decree Unitatis redintegratio; and to develop dialogue and collaboration with the other churches and world communions. “It makes me happy to be with you today accompanied with the Coptic delegation, and to speak to you on behalf of the Coptic Orthodox Church,” Pope Tawadros addressed the Dicastery. “Our Church,” he said, “is a renewed Church. In its people, youth, and children, there is the spirit of originality and modernity. We chant hymns that are thousands of years old, and we use the latest electronic applications to communicate with our youth and the world. Our deacons have wear the same vestments of centuries ago , and our youth apply the most modern methods in service.
On Christian unity
“As Coptic Orthodox, we realise that our path to unity is not easy. We have been facing many challenges and obstacles over the centuries, including theological differences, cultural barriers, and political divisions. But we believe that through prayer, dialogue, and mutual respect, God works in His Church; we hold on to His saying, ‘And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive,’ (Matthew 21:22).
“As we gather here in the Vatican on the land of St Peter and St Paul, the Apostles, I think it is important to reflect on how we can work together to strengthen our bonds and promote understanding among our diverse Christian communities. To achieve this goal, we must be willing to seek points of rapprochement, closeness, and greater understanding in a spirit of respect.”
Human rights, war in Ukraine
Also on 11 May, over an hour, Pope Tawadros met with a group of reporters and representatives of Italian TV. He talked to them mainly about the reason of his visit to the Vatican. He talked of the significance of his visit, the gifts exchanged by the two Popes, the Coptic Mass he is scheduled to celebrate on a specially built altar on Sunday 14 May with the Coptic congregation in Rome at St John Lateran. He also explained the efforts of the Catholic and Coptic Churches at dialogue towards ultimate unity, and the obstacles facing that unity.
When asked about human rights in Egypt, he replied: “Human rights are numerous; they are not only political, but economic and social rights as well. We in Egypt are a country with a hard pressed economy and substantial of poverty. The President and the government strive to provide decent lives for all, the rights to housing, food, drink, education and health. We live in stability and peace. There is a bond of love between Christians and Muslims; we are trying to build a new Egypt together.
Commenting on the impact of the Russia Ukraine war on Egypt, the Pope said that any war creates a crisis. “The war between Russia and Ukraine affects the world, not just Egypt,” Pope Tawadros said. “We import half of Egypt’s wheat from Russia and Ukraine, and the difficulty of supplying wheat was a crisis, but thank God we succeeded in supplying our needs from other sources. It is a senseless war that leaves in its wake countless displaced and victims. We strongly condemn the flow of weapons that keeps it going, creating a painful human tragedy. We pray for wisdom to stop this war.
Watani International
11 May 2023
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