“A dear visitor, a unique personality, and a high-level religious and spiritual leader.” Those were the opening words of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s speech welcoming Pope Francis on Friday. Al-Sisi received the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church at the Itihadeya presidential palace. The pope was on an official visit to Egypt on 28 and 29 April. On a further note, the president praised Pope Francis’ efforts in renewing communication channels with Egypt’s Muslim institutions, namely Al-Azhar, opining that the move comes in accordance with his wishes to renew religious discourse to fight extremism. Earlier in 2013, Pope Tawadros II met Pope Francis in the Vatican.

Source: Daily News Egypt April 29, 2017 15:00 UTC