Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II has returned to Cairo upon completion of his historic visit to Italy and the expatriate Copts . The Pope presided over his last mass which was attended by bishops and priests of the Coptic Church from Egypt as well as Europe. During the visit, Pope Tawadros II visited the city of Venice where he met with Cardinal Angelo Scola, Archbishop of Milan, and the Egyptian Ambassador to the city. In a visit to Milan the Pope was received by members of the local Coptic community which numbers over 100,000.

Pope Tawadros continued to the Vatican where he met with Vatican Pope Francis I, the second such meeting between the leaders of the two churches. The Pope has returned to Egypt for a week, after which he will depart for Austria where he will chair a conference entitled “Service, Care and Leadership” which will be attended by various leaders of the Coptic Church in Europe (Jamāl Jirjis al-Muzāhim, al-Yawm al-Sābi’, May 17, p. 3). Read original text in Arabic.