Pope Francis, the 266th and current Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, will pay an official visit to Egypt during the last week of April. This visit comes as an invitation from President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to Pope Francis, Egyptian presidency spokesperson Alaa Youssef said in a statement.
The visit’s programme will include a visit to Al-Azhar—Egypt’s largest Islamic institution—where the pope will meet Al-Azhar’s Grand Imam, Ahmed Al-Tayeb, and also a visit to Egypt’s main Coptic Church to meet Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria. The visit also includes visiting the Catholic Church in Egypt.
Youssef said in the statement that Egypt is welcoming the pope and hoping the visit will contribute effectively to consolidating peace, tolerance, and dialogue between all humankind.
Moreover, the presidency spokesperson noted that Al-Sisi expresses his respect to Pope Francis and to his courageous stances on international issues, adding that Al-Sisi sensed these stances during his previous meeting with Pope Francis in 2014.
