There were once again two popes at the Vatican Wednesday, at least briefly, when Pope Francis welcomed Pope Tawadros II, head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, to his weekly audience.
Francis, the 86-year-old head of the global Catholic Church, embraced the Egyptian patriarch in St Peter’s Square before the pair took to the stage, where they both addressed the rain-soaked crowds.
Tawadros is on a four-day visit to mark 50 years since the historic meeting between pope Paul VI and patriarch Shenouda III in May 1973.
“My friend and brother Tawadros, thank you for accepting my invitation,” Francis said.
“I sincerely thank you for your commitment to the growing friendship between the Coptic Orthodox and Catholic Churches.”
It is the third time the two men have met, after the patriarch visited Rome in 2013, and the 2017 trip by Francis to Egypt.
Copts are the largest Christian community in the Middle East, and make up at least 10 million of Muslim-majority Egypt’s population of around 100 million.
Copts were targeted in a series of sectarian attacks after the military in 2013 deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. Such attacks focused largely on remote villages in southern Egypt.
Francis has sought to build ties with other churches and other faiths since becoming pope in 2013, following the resignation of his predecessor Benedict XVI.
Benedict, who took the title emeritus pope, lived in the Vatican until his death on December 31, 2022.
