Pope Francis Visits Egypt With A Message Of Peace, Preaches In Cairo

Pope Francis is on a two -day visit to Egypt. The pope's visit is to forge a better Christian - Muslim relationship in the Muslim dominated country and to show solidarity to the country's Coptic Christian minority.


The visit is coming two - weeks after the Palm Sunday bombing in two Coptic churches in Cairo leaving no fewer than 40 people dead and several others injured.

Pope Francis on Friday, stressed the importance of unity between Muslims and Christians to shape world peace.
"Religiosity means nothing unless it is inspired by deep faith and charity," he said.

He met with the leader of the Coptic  Orthodox Church, Pope Tawadros  II and also met and exchanged pleasantries with Sheikh Ahmed el- Tayeb, the Grand Imam of the Al- Azahar Mosque in Cairo.

At the Cairo's Air Defense Stadium, which was surrounded by tight security, accommodating about 15,000 people, the Pope started the mass with "As- Salaam  Alaikum, the traditional Arabic Muslim greeting meaning "Peace be upon you" and ended it with "al- Masih qam! Bi- I-haqiqa qam! (Christ is risen! He is truly risen)"

Pope Francis preached about peace and tolerance.
"True faith is one that makes us more charitable, more merciful, more honest, more humane," he said.

"Let us say once more a firm and clear 'No! to every form of violence, vengeance and hatred carried out in the name of religion or in the name of God,"the Pope said in Italian in a speech at a peace conference organised at Al- Azhar University, the premier seat of high learning among Sunni Muslims.

The Pope is expected to visit Egypt small Catholic community on Saturday.