Two popes mark 1973 declaration, Pope Francis thanks Coptic leader Tawadros for ‘growing friendship’

Two popes sat side by side before a crowd of rain-soaked pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on May 10, 2023. Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II, patriarch of Alexandria, Egypt, was in Rome to mark the 50th anniversary of a joint declaration signed in 1973 by St. Paul VI and Pope Shenouda III, which outlined the beliefs shared by their churches.

Before his general audience, Pope Francis embraced Pope Tawadros and kissed his encolpion, an icon that Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic bishops wear instead of a pectoral cross. During the audience, the two publicly exchanged greetings and took turns addressing the crowd.

Speaking in Arabic, Pope Tawadros said that “despite the differences in our roots and affiliations, we are united by the love of Christ who dwells within us and the host of our apostle fathers and saints who guide us.” He called on Catholics and Copts to love one another, saying that the churches had “accepted the challenge of love that Christ asks of us.” He also congratulated Pope Francis on the 10th anniversary of his pontificate, celebrated in March, and recalled his 2013 trip to Rome and meeting with Pope Francis, which he said was “filled with brotherly love.”

Pope Tawadros described an annual tradition in which, each May 10, the anniversary of the 1973 meeting between their predecessors, the two popes speak by phone and exchange greetings. He said the practice “embodies the Christian spirit and love that unites us in serving God and serving our brothers and sisters in humanity.” He further thanked Pope Francis for his April 2017 visit to Egypt, which he called a “great blessing for all of Egypt,” and recalled Pope Francis’ messages urging their church communities to become together “a living image of the heavenly Jerusalem.”

Setting aside his usual weekly catechesis, Pope Francis thanked Pope Tawadros for his visit to Rome and for his commitment to the “growing friendship” between their churches. He referred to 21 Coptic Christians who were killed by the Islamic State in Libya in 2015, saying they “are also ours,” and asked for their intercession in fostering communion between the two churches. The two popes then jointly blessed the crowd. The reference to unity in these words echoes the prayer of Christ for his followers to be one (John 17:21).

Pope Tawadros was scheduled to meet privately with Pope Francis on May 11 and then with officials from the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity. He was also scheduled to meet Rome’s Coptic Christian community and to celebrate Divine Liturgy on May 14 in the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the cathedral of Rome.

In a jointly written preface to a book about the 1973 declaration, the two popes expressed their desire for their churches to “journey toward full communion.” They gave thanks for “the steps already taken, and the distance already traveled, which are often much more important than we imagine.”

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