At 7:00am yesterday morning, the Holy Father, Pope Francis concelebrated Mass in the chapel at the Domus Santa Martha along with the Patriarch of Alexandria for Coptic Catholics, His Beatitude, Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak. Also concelebrating with the Holy Father and the Patriarch of Alexandria for Coptic Catholics was Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.
Your Beatitude, Your Eminence,
Venerable brothers in the episcopate and in the priesthood,
Dear brothers and sisters,
For the first time, I have the joy of welcoming as the Bishop of Rome, a new Patriarch who has come to demonstrate a significant gesture of communion with the Successor of Peter. Accepting your canonical election, Your Beatitude immediately asked for the affirmation of ecclesiastical communion with the universal Church which presides in charity. My venerable predecessor willingly granted your request, mindful of the bond which has always been maintained throughout history between the Successor of Peter and the Church of Alexandria of Coptic Catholics. You are a living expression of the preaching of Saint Mark the Evangelist, and this is the legacy that he left as a good interpreter of the Apostle Peter.
In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah (cf 35:1-10) has awakened in our hearts the expectation of the glorious return of the Lord. The encouragement to the faint of heart, we feel aimed at those of your beloved Egyptian land who experience insecurity and violence at times because of their Christian faith. Take courage: be not afraid! These are consoling words which are confirmed by fraternal solidarity. I am grateful to God, for this meeting provides me with an opportunity to strengthen your ... and our hope, because this hope is the same as that of Isaiah, that: the scorched earth ... and the parched ground - truly - will be transformed into water courses and that the holy way will finally be opened, the way toward joy and happiness when sorrow and sighing will flee away. This is our hope, the common hope of our two Churches.
The gospel (cf. Lk 5:17-26) presents Christ who overcomes the paralysis of humanity. It describes the power of divine mercy that forgives and melts away every sin when it meets authentic faith. The paralyses of conscience are contagious. The complicity of the poverty of history, and of our sin, we could expand and enter into social structures and communities in order to block entire peoples, but the command of Christ can turn this situation around: Rise, and walk. Let us pray with confidence that in the Holy Land and throughout the Middle East, peace may always arise from the struggles which are far too often so dramatically present. May all enmity and divisions cease. May we quickly resume the peace agreements which are far too often paralyzed and obscured by conflicting interests. May true guarantees of religious liberties be established, along with rights for all Christians to live serenely in their native land, in the homeland which they have loved for more than two thousand years, in order to contribute as they always have toward the good of all. May the Lord Jesus, who lived as a refuge with his family when they were generously welcomed in your land, watch over all Egyptians who throughout the streets of the world still seek dignity and security. Let us go forward from here, always seeking the Lord, always seeking new paths, new opportunities to move ever closer toward the Lord. Should it be necessary for us to open a hole in the roof in order to get closer to the Lord, may our creative imagination lead us to this reality in charity, enabling us to discover and create roads of encounter, roads of fraternity and roads of peace.
We want to glorify God, to replace our fears with amazement: even today, we can witness strange things in the wonder of the Incarnate Word and of the absolute closeness of God to all humanity, in the wonder we experience in the mystery of Advent. May your great father Athanasius who is so close to the Chair of Peter and the Vatican Basilica intercede for us along with Saint Mark and Saint Peter , and above all with the Immaculate and All Holy Mother of God. May we receive from the Lord, the joy of the Gospel given in abundance to the disciples and to those who bear witness to Him. Amen.
Most Holy Father,
In a sense of profound veneration, I wish to express my gratitude to Your Holiness for the opportunity to concelebrate with you the divine liturgy as a public sign of ecclesial communion. Together, we present to Your Holiness, the profound gratitude of the Bishops, the priests, the religious priests and sisters, and of all the faithful of the Coptic Catholic Church. Our gratitude extends equally to His Eminence, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches and to all his collaborators who have worked so diligently toward the realization of this most significant moment for me and for the Church who is called to serve as head and father. In this delicate moment in history, we feel the need for the support of your paternal embrace, Your Holiness, and for your continuing lessons for life.
As we prepare to celebrate the Incarnation of the Word, I cannot but recall the historical connection between my land and this mystery, since Egypt was the first place of welcome for the Holy Family who fled the persecution of Herod. That corner of the world between the desert and the Nile knew then and still knows today the dramatic suffering of so many people who long to be listened to and welcomed.
Our Church is there, ready to welcome anyone who knocks at the door, ready to offer hospitality to those who ask for help, to help the needy, the abandoned, and ready to witness to the gospel just as this message was transmitted by the evangelist Saint Mark. It is because of his preaching, as a disciple of Saint Peter, that the Church in Egypt was born, and today more than ever, as his children, we need the support that only your pastoral guidance, as the Successor of Peter can give us. I entrust to your prayer our entire country and in particular the Coptic Catholic community, the clergy and the faithful which the Holy Spirit has entrusted to my pastoral care, through the wisdom of the Synod Fathers. Already now Holy Father, we are praying for you: may the Lord protect you and give you the strength to continue proclaiming the joy of the gospel - evangelii gaudium - to all men. May the light of Christmas be the star that reveals the path of love, of unity, of reconciliation and of peace, gifts which my land needs so much. Asking for your blessing, Holy Father, we eagerly await your visit to Egypt.
Homily of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the Mass concelebrated with
the Patriarch of Alexandria for Coptic Catholics
Your Beatitude, Your Eminence,
Venerable brothers in the episcopate and in the priesthood,
Dear brothers and sisters,
For the first time, I have the joy of welcoming as the Bishop of Rome, a new Patriarch who has come to demonstrate a significant gesture of communion with the Successor of Peter. Accepting your canonical election, Your Beatitude immediately asked for the affirmation of ecclesiastical communion with the universal Church which presides in charity. My venerable predecessor willingly granted your request, mindful of the bond which has always been maintained throughout history between the Successor of Peter and the Church of Alexandria of Coptic Catholics. You are a living expression of the preaching of Saint Mark the Evangelist, and this is the legacy that he left as a good interpreter of the Apostle Peter.
In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah (cf 35:1-10) has awakened in our hearts the expectation of the glorious return of the Lord. The encouragement to the faint of heart, we feel aimed at those of your beloved Egyptian land who experience insecurity and violence at times because of their Christian faith. Take courage: be not afraid! These are consoling words which are confirmed by fraternal solidarity. I am grateful to God, for this meeting provides me with an opportunity to strengthen your ... and our hope, because this hope is the same as that of Isaiah, that: the scorched earth ... and the parched ground - truly - will be transformed into water courses and that the holy way will finally be opened, the way toward joy and happiness when sorrow and sighing will flee away. This is our hope, the common hope of our two Churches.
The gospel (cf. Lk 5:17-26) presents Christ who overcomes the paralysis of humanity. It describes the power of divine mercy that forgives and melts away every sin when it meets authentic faith. The paralyses of conscience are contagious. The complicity of the poverty of history, and of our sin, we could expand and enter into social structures and communities in order to block entire peoples, but the command of Christ can turn this situation around: Rise, and walk. Let us pray with confidence that in the Holy Land and throughout the Middle East, peace may always arise from the struggles which are far too often so dramatically present. May all enmity and divisions cease. May we quickly resume the peace agreements which are far too often paralyzed and obscured by conflicting interests. May true guarantees of religious liberties be established, along with rights for all Christians to live serenely in their native land, in the homeland which they have loved for more than two thousand years, in order to contribute as they always have toward the good of all. May the Lord Jesus, who lived as a refuge with his family when they were generously welcomed in your land, watch over all Egyptians who throughout the streets of the world still seek dignity and security. Let us go forward from here, always seeking the Lord, always seeking new paths, new opportunities to move ever closer toward the Lord. Should it be necessary for us to open a hole in the roof in order to get closer to the Lord, may our creative imagination lead us to this reality in charity, enabling us to discover and create roads of encounter, roads of fraternity and roads of peace.
We want to glorify God, to replace our fears with amazement: even today, we can witness strange things in the wonder of the Incarnate Word and of the absolute closeness of God to all humanity, in the wonder we experience in the mystery of Advent. May your great father Athanasius who is so close to the Chair of Peter and the Vatican Basilica intercede for us along with Saint Mark and Saint Peter , and above all with the Immaculate and All Holy Mother of God. May we receive from the Lord, the joy of the Gospel given in abundance to the disciples and to those who bear witness to Him. Amen.
Greetings of the Coptic Patriarch
His Beatitude, Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak
Most Holy Father,
In a sense of profound veneration, I wish to express my gratitude to Your Holiness for the opportunity to concelebrate with you the divine liturgy as a public sign of ecclesial communion. Together, we present to Your Holiness, the profound gratitude of the Bishops, the priests, the religious priests and sisters, and of all the faithful of the Coptic Catholic Church. Our gratitude extends equally to His Eminence, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches and to all his collaborators who have worked so diligently toward the realization of this most significant moment for me and for the Church who is called to serve as head and father. In this delicate moment in history, we feel the need for the support of your paternal embrace, Your Holiness, and for your continuing lessons for life.
As we prepare to celebrate the Incarnation of the Word, I cannot but recall the historical connection between my land and this mystery, since Egypt was the first place of welcome for the Holy Family who fled the persecution of Herod. That corner of the world between the desert and the Nile knew then and still knows today the dramatic suffering of so many people who long to be listened to and welcomed.
Our Church is there, ready to welcome anyone who knocks at the door, ready to offer hospitality to those who ask for help, to help the needy, the abandoned, and ready to witness to the gospel just as this message was transmitted by the evangelist Saint Mark. It is because of his preaching, as a disciple of Saint Peter, that the Church in Egypt was born, and today more than ever, as his children, we need the support that only your pastoral guidance, as the Successor of Peter can give us. I entrust to your prayer our entire country and in particular the Coptic Catholic community, the clergy and the faithful which the Holy Spirit has entrusted to my pastoral care, through the wisdom of the Synod Fathers. Already now Holy Father, we are praying for you: may the Lord protect you and give you the strength to continue proclaiming the joy of the gospel - evangelii gaudium - to all men. May the light of Christmas be the star that reveals the path of love, of unity, of reconciliation and of peace, gifts which my land needs so much. Asking for your blessing, Holy Father, we eagerly await your visit to Egypt.
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