CAIRO DECEMBER 13, 2016 – Pope Francis has expressed his condolences to Pope Towardos II, Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, following the December 11 terrorist attack on a chapel near Coptic cathedral of St. Mark Abbasiya, Cairo.
During the December 12 call, Pope Francis expressed his closeness to the patriarch and the hard hit Coptic community, especially the women and children who represent the highest number of victims.
“We are united in the blood of our martyrs,” Vatican Radio quoted Pope Francis as saying.
The bomb attack in St. Peters chapel adjacent to Egypt’s main Coptic cathedral, where people were attending regular mass December 11, claimed the lives of 25 people and left 49 wounded.
The bomb was reportedly an act of a suicide bomber and no group has come out to claim the attack against the minority Christian community in Egypt.
Egypt declared three days of mourning following the bombing.
The patriarch thanked Pope Francis for his closeness at this time, and asked him to pray for them and for peace in Egypt.
