When His Holiness Pope Tawadros II departs Cairo Airport on a journey beyond Egypt’s borders, he does not travel alone. He carries Egypt with him, carries the Coptic Church in his heart, and bears the message of Saint Mark the Apostle, who sailed two thousand years ago carrying the same Gospel to lands then unknown.

Between April 25 and May 12, 2026, His Holiness traveled great distances to visit four countries: Turkey, Austria, Italy (Venice), and Croatia.

It is no exaggeration to say that this visit was a complete message in five chapters:
a chapter of teaching, a chapter of pastoral care, a chapter of ecumenical dialogue, a chapter on the future of the Church in the diaspora, and a chapter on planting churches in new lands. In the following lines, we attempt to read these five chapters through the eyes of faith and the heart of belonging.

First: A Visit of Teaching

The Coptic Church has been a teaching Church since the days of the Theological School of Alexandria, illuminated by Clement, Origen, and Athanasius the Apostolic. His Holiness Pope Tawadros II was keen for his European visit to be a faithful continuation of this heritage.

In Venice, His Holiness presided over the Conference of the Dioceses of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Europe, America, and Australia, hosted by Saint Mark Coptic Orthodox Cathedral at the headquarters of the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate in Europe. This conference was not merely a routine gathering, but rather a strategic platform for shaping the future of Coptic ministry across three continents, attended by bishops from Europe, America, and Australia in an unprecedented gathering that reflected the growing significance of the Coptic presence outside Egypt.

In Croatia, His Holiness spoke extensively to his Coptic children through sermons that strengthened identity and taught the faith. He told them:

“Be a light to those around you — at work, in the street, and at home.”

Teaching here was not simply the transfer of information, but the strengthening of faith and the deepening of belonging in the hearts of Coptic Egyptians living abroad.

And when the Pope stood at the pulpit of Saint Mark’s Basilica in Venice speaking about four saints commemorated in May — Saint George, Saint Mark, Athanasius the Apostolic, and Saint Demiana — he was also teaching that the Coptic Church is not confined to Egyptian geography, but is a universal Church embracing the heritage of the saints wherever she may be found. In Pope Tawadros’s understanding, teaching is not merely an academic lecture, but a life lived before his children everywhere.

Second: A Visit of Pastoral Care

The Lord Jesus Christ said:

“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?” (Luke 15:4)

This verse is not merely a Gospel parable; it is the pastoral philosophy that moves Pope Tawadros in his journeys abroad.

Hundreds of thousands of Egyptian Copts live outside Egypt, in European, Western, Australian, and American cities. They work, study, and raise their children amid the noise of modern life. When the Pope arrives among them, they see in his face the face of the Mother Church — that warm embrace they left behind when they departed Cairo, Alexandria, or Assiut.

In Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, nearly seven hundred Copts attended the Divine Liturgy presided over by His Holiness, coming from all parts of the country. One of them said:

“This is a great day. We waited months for this visit and prepared for it for a long time.”

Another said:

“Pope Tawadros means so much to us as Egyptians.”

Moments like these can never be replaced by technology, no matter how advanced, nor by digital platforms, no matter how widespread. True pastoral care requires living presence, eyes that meet, hands that clasp together, and a heart wide enough to embrace everyone.

In Turkey, His Holiness was keen to meet members of the Coptic community at Saint Paul Church in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul. In Austria, he met with youth from the dioceses of Europe, who found in him answers to spiritual questions, sincere fatherhood, and genuine care from the Mother Church filled with love for her children.

Third: A Visit of Ecumenical Dialogue

Perhaps this visit was the richest in its ecumenical dimension, carrying within it historic meetings that will remain in the memory of church relations.

In Turkey, the visit witnessed a meeting between the two most ancient Apostolic Sees, as His Holiness Pope Tawadros II met Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I in Istanbul, in a historic encounter — the first of its kind during their patriarchates. Together they prayed at Saint George Cathedral and spoke the language of brotherhood that transcends centuries of history and division.

His Holiness also visited the Armenian Patriarchate, where he was received by Patriarch Sahak II, and visited the Syriac Orthodox Church of the Virgin Mary, where traditional Syriac hymns welcomed him. Through all these encounters, the Coptic Church affirmed her active presence within the Oriental Orthodox family and reinforced her standing as one of the world’s oldest Apostolic Churches.

In Venice, however, the ecumenical dimension reached its deepest symbolic expression. At the altar of Saint Mark’s Basilica, the 118th Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church prayed above the altar beneath which rests the body of Saint Mark the Apostle, the first Patriarch of the See of Alexandria. It was a majestic scene uniting centuries of history in a single moment.

His Holiness then proceeded to the Archbishop’s residence, where Cardinal Francesco Moraglia, Patriarch of Venice, received him in the historic hall adorned with Tintoretto’s famous paintings.

This meeting took place on May 10, the fifty-third anniversary of the signing of the Common Declaration between Pope Paul VI and Pope Shenouda III in 1973 — the declaration that inaugurated a new era in Coptic-Catholic relations. His Holiness Pope Tawadros also sent a special message to the Copts in Rome, which was read on this occasion.

In Zagreb, the ecumenical dimension expanded further into national and humanitarian dialogue, as His Holiness met Croatian President Zoran Milanović and Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman, who described the meeting as:

“An open and rich dialogue on the importance of interreligious dialogue, preserving peace, and protecting human dignity.”

He also visited Cardinal Dražen Kutleša, Archbishop of Zagreb, the Bishop of Križevci, and met the Grand Mufti of Croatia, sending a clear message that the Coptic Church carries a heart open to all.

Fourth: A Visit Concerning the Future of the Church in the Diaspora

There is a great difference between a visit that creates a passing event and one that builds a future and institutions. Pope Tawadros II’s visit to Europe belonged to the latter category.

The conference he presided over in Venice was not merely ceremonial; it was a strategic workshop in which the map of Coptic ministry across three continents was being redrawn. The bishops gathered there represent more than thirty-two dioceses outside Egypt, comprising over one thousand churches and parishes served by nearly forty bishops. This reality is no longer peripheral to the Church’s life; it has become an integral part of her living fabric.

His Holiness expressed his joy at this broad participation, saying:

“This is the first time in history that such a large number of Coptic bishops have gathered outside Egypt, with fathers participating from America, Europe, Asia, and Australia in this historic occasion.”

These words alone summarize the remarkable growth journey of the Coptic Church abroad.

The Austrian visit also included meetings with youth from European dioceses, because His Holiness understands that the future is built through the youth. The second and third generations of Coptic immigrants need to feel that they are an authentic part of the Church, not merely an Egyptian minority practicing unfamiliar rites in foreign societies. Therefore, the Pope came to strengthen belonging before strengthening buildings.

Fifth: A Visit of Planting Churches — From Alexandria to Zagreb

In 2021, the first Coptic Liturgy in Croatia was celebrated in the town of Jastrebarsko, when the Coptic community numbered only a few dozen people. Just five years later, in May 2026, Pope Tawadros II personally visited this community, now approaching seven hundred faithful, describing them as “a large number” deserving the establishment of a Coptic church to provide pastoral care for youth and families.

This is the logic of planting the Church: a small seed planted in new soil, watered patiently with care until it bears fruit in due season.

Croatia is not alone in this story. Today the Coptic Church is present in more than seventy countries across six continents. Many of these communities began in the same humble way: Coptic immigrant families gathering in a small home or borrowed church until the ministry matured and the community grew.

The official website of the Coptic Church described this scene eloquently:

“When Pope Tawadros II sets foot on the land of Zagreb, he is not merely making a pastoral visit, but continuing an apostolic journey that Saint Mark the Apostle began two thousand years ago when he sailed from Alexandria carrying the message of Christ to the world.”

From Alexandria to Zagreb, the message remains the same.

As the Pope explained to his children in Croatia, the Coptic Church precedes her children wherever they go. She does not wait for the community to grow before sending a shepherd; rather, she brings pastoral care from the very first moment, lest the immigrant feel spiritual alienation or lose ecclesial belonging.

Finally

When His Holiness Pope Tawadros II undertook this extended European journey, he was practicing the Church’s mission in its truest meaning: teaching, pastoral care, dialogue, building, and planting.

At every stop along the journey, His Holiness laid another stone in the edifice of the universal Church:
in Istanbul, a stone of dialogue among the Orthodox Churches;
in Austria, a stone for youth and the future;
in Venice, a stone of Christian unity and the memory of Saint Mark;
and in Zagreb, a stone marking the birth of ecclesial life in a land that had never before heard the voice of the Coptic rite.

And when His Holiness was once asked about Egypt during one of his interviews, he said:

“The world is in God’s hands, and Egypt is in God’s heart.”

And we say that the Coptic Church is in the heart of this shepherd Pope, who, whenever he closes his eyes in any European city, sees before him the faces of his children scattered across the world and hears the melodies of Kiahk hymns echoing in distant lands.

For a pastoral visit is not an event recorded in archives, but a root planted deep within human hearts.

The early Fathers wrote that “the Church is the people,” and His Holiness Pope Tawadros II embodies this truth through his continual visits to his children abroad. The Church does not dwell only within walls, but within the hearts of the Copts wherever they may be, while their shepherd watches over them with eyes of love, carrying to them the same faith and the same spirit in every time and place.

“And the Word of God continued to grow and multiply.”
(Acts 12:24)