Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed al-Tayyeb congratulated on Tuesday Pope Francis of the Catholic Church and the sovereign of Vatican City on the occasion of the Christmas holidays. Tayyeb also congratulated Pope Francis on his 82nd birthday during a phone call, wishing him peace and love, Al-Azhar stated. The Grand Imam expressed full congratulations to Pope Francis and Christians all over the world on occasion of the birthday celebration of Jesus Christ on December 25, according to the statement from Al-Azhar. Pope Francis thanked Tayyeb for the good gesture, saying he is looking forward to meeting the Grand Imam soon in Abu Dhabi, the UAE’s Gulf Today said. In 2017, Tayyeb met Pope Francis in the Vatican to follow up on the mutual efforts for peace building that were discussed during the conference for World Peace organized by Al-Azhar in April that year.

Source: Egypt Independent December 18, 2018 14:48 UTC