His Holiness Pope Tawadros II attended this evening the celebration organized by the Diocese of Austria marking ten years since the reception and consecration of the Cathedral of the Virgin “Maria am Sieg” and Archangel Michael, located in Vienna’s 22nd district.

The celebration was attended by His Eminence Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, former Archbishop of Vienna of the Roman Catholic Church, His Grace Bishop Tiran of the Armenian Orthodox Church, and Fr. Dr. Emmanuel Aydin of the Syriac Orthodox Church.

At the beginning of the celebration, His Grace Bishop Gabriel, Bishop of Austria and the German-speaking region of Switzerland, delivered a speech reviewing the stages through which the cathedral passed until it came under the ownership of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Cardinal Schönborn and Fr. Aydin also delivered words of appreciation and goodwill.

A documentary film about the cathedral was presented, and hymns were performed by a choir from the Eritrean Orthodox Church, as well as by the cathedral’s own choir.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II then delivered his address, in which he congratulated the attendees on the 150th anniversary of the cathedral’s construction and the 10th anniversary of its consecration. He warmly welcomed Cardinal Schönborn and all those present, recalling the verses: “Love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:8) and “Let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18).

His Holiness praised the practical love demonstrated by Cardinal Schönborn, noting that he had gifted two additional churches to the Coptic Orthodox Church, with a fourth underway, and had also gifted a church to the Armenian Orthodox Church.

He affirmed that the heart of the Coptic Orthodox Church is open in love to all Christian churches.

The Cathedral of the Virgin “Maria am Sieg” is the second-largest church in Vienna, dating back to the late 19th century. It was gifted by the Catholic Church in Austria to the Coptic Orthodox Church. The ownership agreement was signed on December 9, 2015, and the cathedral was received and consecrated by His Holiness Pope Tawadros II on May 20, 2016.

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