Over the weekend, an estimated 15,000 Egyptian Christians flocked to Cairo to attend an open-air Mass celebrated by Pope Francis. Saturday’s worship ceremony took place at Egypt’s Air Defense Stadium, which holds up to 25,000 people.
Catholics, who comprise less than 1 percent of the country’s population, constituted a mere portion of the overall attendees, ABC News reported. Thousands of Coptic Christians, who make up roughly 10 percent of the population, were widely represented at the gathering.
Coptic priests singing hymns in the @Pontifex mass in Cairo. This inter-sect mix is the Pope's visit best outcome pic.twitter.com/xpGFYOeaTP
— Nervana Mahmoud (@Nervana_1) April 29, 2017
#PopeFrancis, Grand Imam, Patriarch & Coptic Bishops bless #faithful in the stadium.#popeinegypt pic.twitter.com/WC6PcspehV
— NET TV (@NETnyTV) April 29, 2017
PHOTO OF THE DAY |
Coptic journalist blessed by the #Pope Francis pic.twitter.com/2hdbMWpM92
— Vocal Europe (@thevocaleurope) April 29, 2017
#PopeFrancis, Coptic patriarch honor martyrs, urge unity for peace https://t.co/6kiyfRYh4q #PopeinEgypt pic.twitter.com/sDdwUfbf2g
— Catholic News Svc (@CatholicNewsSvc) April 29, 2017
As Faithwire previously reported, Egyptian Copts have been the target of multiple deadly attacks by Islamic jihadists. Amid what has been a season of grief for Egypt’s Christian minority, the interdenominational fellowship projected an image of strength and solidarity.
Francis’s two-day trip to promote peace and unity marked the first time a pope had visited the Muslim-majority country since St. John Paul II in 2000, according to ABC. In a time when many feel the Egyptian government has let Christians down, the pope’s visit sent a bold message that their persecution would not be ignored.
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