Today (Tuesday), H.H. Pope Tawadros II received at the Papal Residence in Cairo, Major General Abdel Fattah Safwat, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Misr Tourism Company, and Major General Tariq Nasir, Secretary General of the Protectors of the Homeland Party. They were accompanied by: Mr. Ahmed Al-Asqalani (Executive Managing Director of the Misr Tourism Company), Brigadier General Engineer Medhat Fouad Hanna, Dr. Amr Soliman (the party’s spokesman), MP Martha Mahrous, and Mrs. Lamia Hammam (the company’s sales manager).

During the meeting, the topic of tourism promotion of the Holy Family’s trail was reviewed within the framework of joint cooperation between the Misr Tourism Company and the Protectors of the Nation Party to promote the trail internally and externally. This is in addition to the efforts made by the state to develop the trail’s stations and tourism investment for it.

During the meeting, His Holiness stressed that the visit of the Holy Family to Egypt is of special importance at the ecclesiastical level, as the Coptic Church celebrates in January of every year the feast of the Holy Family’s departure from the land of Palestine, to escape from the face of the tyrannical King Herod. Then it celebrates for the second time, on the first of June, the arrival of the Holy Family to the land of Egypt. He noted that the Church on both occasions prays in a joyful tune, and that the coming of the Lord Christ and the Holy Family to Egypt is an important event mentioned in the Holy Bible. Pope Tawadros highlighted that there are three main verses that document the features of the visit:
-“Blessed is Egypt My people” (Isaiah 19:25).
-“Out of Egypt I called My son” (Hosea 11:1)
-“In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt” (Isaiah 19:19)

He added: “The family travelled in Egypt from north to south and from east to west. They stayed there for more than three years,” noting that the presence of such a path in Egypt is a competitive advantage, and that it is also distinguished by the fact that it has a river side and a land side.

Pope Tawadros appealed to include in the educational curricula for children this important era in the history of Egypt, which includes the visit of the Holy Family to Egypt, the history of the ancient Coptic Church, and the history of monasticism that spread from Egypt to the whole world, as the first monastery in the world was St Anthony’s Monastery located in the area of the Red Sea. The first monk was St Anthony of Egypt, who was from the Beni Suef Governorate.

His Holiness stressed that there is a need to create complete and comprehensive awareness to inform Egyptians of the importance of Egypt’s history and its distinction throughout the ages.

For his part, Major General Tariq Nasir pointed out the state’s great interest in developing the Holy Family’s station points and raising the level of the surrounding areas, in addition to raising awareness through documentaries.

Meanwhile, Major General Abdel Fattah Safwat, (Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Misr Tourism Company), empahsized that the presence of the Holy Family’s Trail in Egypt represents a unique advantage to Egypt, pointing out that the company has fully documented the visiting points and worked out the necessary logistics for tourist groups to visit the river and land points easily. In addition to creating various trip programs, the company has also begun to promote the route in coordination with the governorates in which stations of the journey are located, as well as with various state institutions for the same purpose.

His Holiness praised these efforts by the state, the party, the company, and all concerned entities, stressing that the Church is fully prepared to assist in this context by all means available to it. Pope Tawadros indicated that coordination will be made with the metropolitans and bishops of our dioceses abroad to support these programs by coordinating meetings for them with Misr Tourism Company.

To conclude, Major General Abdel Fattah Safwat presented the Misr Tourism Company shield to Pope Tawadros, in appreciation of him.

The meeting was also attended by the Monk Father Kyrillos St. Bishoy, Director of the Office of His Holiness, and Father Philopateer Nabih, Secretary of His Holiness for Diaspora Matters, who are responsible for following up the promotion of the path of the Holy Family inside and outside Egypt.

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