Love Never Stops. It Brings Down Every Wall

Interview with Tawadros II, Pope of the Coptic Church

We meet the day after the funeral of Pope Francis. What memories does Your Holiness have of him as a person and as a partner in the dialogue between the Coptic and Roman Catholic Churches?

We began our ministries as patriarchs of our respective churches almost simultaneously – Pope Francis began his pontificate just four months after I became Patriarch. I was the first head of another church with whom he met, and that meeting took place in May 2013. I saw in him a man who loves all people, with a heart open to everyone. It was such a meaningful encounter that we agreed to celebrate May 10 each year as the Day of Brotherly Love between our churches. Since then, we have met many more times –whether in Cairo, the Vatican, or Bari.

During one of our phone conversations, I told Pope Francis about a woman from the Coptic Church who was suffering from a rare illness that required costly treatment. The Pope arranged for her to be admitted, free of charge, to the Vatican’s Infant Jesus Hospital, which had the necessary facilities to care for her. Her treatment was successful. Later, Pope Francis agreed to open a branch of that hospital in Cairo, and the President of Egypt donated land for its construction. This was a powerful symbol—a sign of Pope Francis’s great love.

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