In an attempt to bring the historically divided Coptic Orthodox and Catholic churches together, Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II met with the Vatican Pope Francis I in the Vatican City. Pope Tawadros’ secretary Angelious Ishāq said the aim of the meeting was to congratulate Pope Francis on his installation, support peace and love in the Middle East, and to discuss future co-operation between the two Christian churches. Although Pope Francis meetings with heads of state and political leaders do not usually last more than 30 minutes, sources close to the meeting say that the Vatican Pope received the Orthodox Pope for about 90 minutes (Muhammad Yūsuf, ‘Imād Khalīl and Fādī Francis, al-Misrī al-Yawm, May 11, p. 3).  Read original text in Arabic.

Moreover, Pope Tawadros met with members of the Coptic Orthodox community in Rome as well as with Gianni Alemanno, Mayor of Rome (Hind al-Sayyīd Hānī, al-Ahrām, May 11, p. 3). Read original text in Arabic.