Pope Francis: English summary of General Audience

Dear Brothers and Sisters:  My recent Apostolic Journey to Egypt took place at the invitation of the President of the Republic, the Coptic Orthodox Patriarch, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and the Catholic Coptic Patriarch.  I thank all those who helped in its planning and organization.  My meeting with the Gran Imam, and my message to the International Conference for Peace, recalled that peace is the fruit of an education to wisdom and a humanism that respects the religious dimension of our existence.  Our covenant with God, grounded in the commandment of love of God and neighbour, inspires our efforts to build a just and peaceful civil order in which all have a part to play.  Egypt’s great cultural and religious heritage gives the nation a special role in this work of peacemaking.  In my meeting with the Coptic Orthodox Patriarch, Pope Tawadros II, we reaffirmed our mutual commitment to unity and prayed together for the victims of the recent attacks.  At Mass with the Catholic community, and in my meeting with priests, religious and seminarians, I saw the beauty of the Church in Egypt and I encouraged everyone to persevere in the hope of the Gospel.  May the Holy Family, who once found refuge in Egypt, bless and protect its people with prosperity, fraternity and peace.