H.H. Pope Tawadros II arrived this afternoon (Saturday) in the Italian city of Venice as part of his ongoing pastoral visit to Milan and Venice.
Upon his arrival at the Cathedral of St. Mark the Apostle in the city, His Holiness was received by eight bishops of the dioceses of the Coptic Church in Europe, some priests, and a number of Copts from Venice and Milan. Children presented a bouquet of flowers to His Holiness to welcome his arrival. The bells of the cathedral rang joyfully, as per the Church’s custom in welcoming the Patriarch.
His Holiness unveiled the commemorative plaque marking its inauguration and consecration, which will take place tomorrow morning. Pope Tawadros opened the doors of the cathedral amidst the chanting of the the Church hymn “Khen Ifran…”
His Grace Bishop Giovanni (Bishop of Central Europe) delivered a speech welcoming His Holiness. He explained that the late His Eminence Metropolitan Kyrillos (previous Metropolitan of Milan) is credited with establishing this cathedral. He bought the land in 2001 which was an agricultural area with a villa in it. He used to pray there with a small number of the congregation. Thanks to the love he had for his Italian neighbors, they helped him obtain a permit to build this cathedral, as he wanted it to be the headquarters of the Coptic Church in Venice.
Then the engineering expert, Dr. Engr. Mounir Abdou Fam, who designed the cathedral, spoke, stressing that the late Metropolitan Kyrillos asked him to design a cathedral in the Coptic style, which is characterized by the presence of domes at the top of the building. He pointed out that this request was difficult to implement in Europe, but he was able to complete it in 2010. The design was presented to the late Pope Shenouda III at the time, who blessed it and assigned a company to implement it.
H.H. Pope Tawadros commented on these words, adding that he visited Venice in 2015 and prayed a Liturgy with the departed Metropolitan Kyrillos. The construction work of the cathedral had not yet been completed. His Holiness praised the beauty of the iconistasis and the icons installed in it. When he learned from His Grace Bishop Giovanni that the icons were painted in Egypt, he joyfully praised Egypt.
His Holiness explained that it had been arranged with the fathers there that the inauguration would be on the 15th of October, which coincides with the birthday of the departed Metropolitan Kyrillos (15 of October 1952).
To conclude, His Holiness prayed and blessed the attendees.
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