Vatican City: The Catholic Church in Egypt maintains close daily contact with the country’s Coptic Orthodox and Muslim communities, while also supporting migrants and refugees, according to Bishop Claudio Lurati, the Latin Apostolic Vicar of Alexandria.
Bishop Lurati, an Italian Comboni missionary who first arrived in Egypt 31 years ago, spoke about his ministry and the religious communities in Egypt during a recent meeting in Rome of CELRA, the episcopal conference bringing together Latin bishops from across the Arab world.
The Latin Catholic presence in Egypt has a long history. Bishop Lurati linked its beginnings to St Francis of Assisi’s visit to Egypt in 1219 to meet Sultan Malik al Kamil. Franciscan communities have remained in the country over the centuries, initially serving traders and diplomatic personnel.
The Catholic community expanded in the 19th century after Egypt’s ruler Muhammad Ali invited Europeans, particularly from France, Italy and Malta, to help develop the country. Many engineers and technicians settled in Egypt during that period.
After the Second World War, the Roman Catholic community, which was largely made up of foreigners, numbered about 120,000 people. It later declined sharply following the nationalisation of the Suez Canal and the departure of many foreigners.
Bishop Lurati estimates that around 60,000 people in Egypt now belong to the Roman Catholic Church. Only about 1,000 to 2,000 are Egyptian, while many others are immigrants. He said around 30,000 to 35,000 are Sudanese, most of them refugees.
Alexandria still carries visible signs of its former multicultural character. Bishop Lurati pointed to the city’s architecture, including buildings associated with Italian and French engineers. He also recalled Alexandria’s historic Jewish community, which had existed for more than 2,000 years before disappearing amid developments over the past six decades.
The Coptic Orthodox Church remains the largest Christian community in Egypt and in the wider Middle East. Bishop Lurati estimated that Copts account for about 10 percent of Egypt’s population, or around 10 to 11 million people. In some parts of Upper Egypt, he said, Christians make up between 20 and 30 percent of the population.
Relations between Catholics and Coptic Orthodox Christians are described as regular and close, even though the two churches do not organise many joint initiatives. Bishop Lurati said many Orthodox Christians work for the Roman Catholic diocese, while the two communities visit one another during major occasions.
Catholic cooperation is particularly strong with the Coptic Catholic Church, which has about 300,000 members and 10 dioceses across Egypt. Catholic bishops also work together, with education being a major area of activity. There are about 170 Catholic schools in the country.
The Catholic Church also maintains daily contact with Egypt’s Muslim majority. Bishop Lurati highlighted the work of the Dominicans, whose library attracts many Muslim students. The Dominicans also maintain dialogue with Al Azhar University, a leading Muslim educational institution in Egypt, where members of the Dominican community sometimes give lectures.
Bishop Lurati also spoke about the impact of the conflict in Gaza on Egypt. He said Egyptians sympathise strongly with Palestinians while also wanting to preserve the peace established with Israel.
Although the border with Gaza remains closed, some Palestinians have reached Egypt, including people who have family members there or require medical treatment. Bishop Lurati said many of the Palestinians he has met suffered serious injuries in Israeli bombardments and require significant medical care.
He also stressed that Sudanese refugees are a major part of the refugee population seen by the Church in Egypt. Over the past three years, Egypt has received about one million refugees from Sudan. Among them are Catholics, leading to a significant increase in attendance at Catholic churches.
Bishop Lurati said the Catholic community from Sudan and South Sudan in Egypt now numbers about 35,000 people, reflecting the continuing humanitarian impact of the conflict in Sudan on neighbouring Egypt.