Rome Newsroom, May 9, 2023 / 12:50 pm
The head of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, Pope Tawadros II, will celebrate a liturgy in the Papal Basilica of St. John Lateran on Sunday to mark 50 years of renewed relations between the Catholic and Coptic Orthodox Churches.
Tawadros II’s visit to Rome this week marks the 50th anniversary of a historic encounter between St. Paul VI and Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria in 1973.
Tawadros II, 70, is the 118th pope of Alexandria and patriarch of the See of St. Mark, the leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. There are an estimated 10 million Coptic Orthodox Christians in the world, roughly 90% of whom live in Egypt.
While in Rome, Tawadros will attend Pope Francis’ public audience on Wednesday, May 10.