The church finalized preparations for the commemoration of the 40th Day anniversary of the departure of Coptic Orthodox Pope Shenouda III at the St. Mark Cathedral in the Cairo district of al-‘Abbassīyah as army and police forces embarked on security measures.

The event, to start from 06:00 p.m. and finish at 09:00 p.m., is expected to be attended by 10,000 state officials, ministers, ambassadors and public figures. [Marco ‘Ādil, al-Akhbār, April 24, p. 3] Read text in Arabic