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The visit of the Patriarch of Alexandria to the Vatican has concluded

On Monday, 23 January 2023, His Beatitude Pope and Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa, as part of his visit to the Vatican, he had a formal meeting with Mr. Mahmoud Ali Talaat, Ambassador of Egypt to the Holy See.

During the meeting, the Ambassador expressed his joy at the visit of His Beatitude, with whom he has a personal friendship since his years as a diplomat in Kenya, while he assured him of the undivided support of the Egyptian state in the multifaceted work of the Alexandrian Church. The meeting was attended, among others, by Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary of the Holy See for relations with states and international organisations.

This was followed by an official event of the worldwide Community of Saint Egidio in honour of the Beatitude in the central Church of Rome. His Beatitude was addressed by the founder of the Community, Professor Mr. Andrea Ricardi, former Minister and its President Mr. Marco Impagliazzo, underlining the importance of the visit of the Patriarch of Alexandria to the seat of the Bishop of Rome. Furthermore, they historically developed the decisive contribution of Alexandrian theology in the formation of the doctrinal teaching of the Church, praising the modern missionary activity of the important Patriarchate as the practical application of the principles of faith on the African continent.

During his speech, His Beatitude underlined the need to intensify the common struggle in favour of our fellow human beings regardless of racial, ethnic, linguistic or religious divisions, “…the fight against every violent and belligerent arbitrariness that leads the human person to impoverishment, the imperative need to “replace” introversion with the outward movement of love towards the other and indeed to the brother who is least, the overcoming of the phobic spiritual insecurity about “supposed fraud, threatening or diminishing our faith” and the courageous declaration of unshakable certainty about the faith of our Fathers, which gives us the joy and strength of honest conversation with every brother around us without reservations, pretensions or self-centred “outbursts of spiritual superiority” against others. Then the fellow person as a living image of God, worthy of all honour, service and respect, becomes one more reason for personal sanctification and not a personal hell (Jean Paul Sartre)”.

A celebratory meeting followed, after which His Beatitude Pope and Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and his entourage left for Egypt.

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