Jubilee Pilgrimage, stage 1, Egypt, 24-26 February 2000

The tradition says that the origins of the Church in Egypt date back to the first century AD, and are related to the activities of St. Mark the Evangelist, who was to establish a bishopric in Alexandria. The country was in ancient times an important center of theological thought, as well as monastic life developed there. The division of Christianity in Egypt occurred in the fifth century, when the Council of Chalcedon condemned Monophysitism (the doctrine of the nature of Christ). Some of the faithful then separated from the universal Church, giving rise to the Coptic Church (Coptic Orthodox Church). Those who remained in the Catholic Church, called Melchites, followed into schism with Rome in the 13th century; moving on to the Orthodox Churches.
There is also a Coptic Catholic community in Egypt (in communion with Rome) and other Catholic communities - Latin, Greco-Melchite, Maronite, Syriac, Chaldean and Armenian. Overall, all Christians are in the minority, as Muslims constitute more than 90 percent of the 100-million-strong population.

On the first day of his visit, the Pope landed in the afternoon, still in time to meet with the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Pope Shenuda III, and Grand Sheikh Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, the highest representative of Egypt's Muslim hierarchy.
The next day, he celebrated the Eucharist according to the Roman Rite (link to radio broadcast) at Cairo's Palace of Sports, which was attended by about 20,000 faithful. The Mass was celebrated in French, the liturgical chants were performed in Coptic, Armenian and Arabic, and the priests were dressed in liturgical vestments of different traditions.
The ecumenical meeting in the Cathedral of Our Lady Patroness of Egypt, which is the main church of the Coptic Catholic Patriarchate of Alexandria, was a highlight, bringing together representatives of the ancient Christian Churches, the Anglican and Lutheran communities, as well as Muslim clergy.

The culmination of the pilgrimage was a visit to Mount Sinai, where, according to the Holy Scriptures, Moses received from God the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone. The area around Mount Sinai is the cradle of Christian monasticism. In the sixth century Emperor Justinian built there a monastery surrounded by a wall, where the relics of St. Catherine of Alexandria are kept, as well as priceless mementos of Christian culture. The monastery is maintained by an autonomous community of Greek Orthodox monks.
Upon entering the Chapel of the Burning Bush, the Pope took off his shoes, kissed the ground and immersed himself in prayer (according to the Bible, God revealed himself to Moses in the burning bush). He also honored the relics of St. Catherine and viewed some precious icons, biblical manuscripts and liturgical furnishings. In an olive grove inside the monastery, he presided over a liturgy of the word (link to radio broadcast).

John Paul II began his two-stage pilgrimage in the footsteps of salvation history by visiting the place where God gave the people of Israel the Decalogue - the Ten Commandments. The pilgrimage had an ecumenical dimension and brought some progress to the dialogue with Muslims. Speaking of the visit to St. Catherine's Monastery at the foot of Sinai, the pope made it clear that "[it] will be a moment of intense prayer for peace and for interreligious harmony." He continued, "To do harm, to promote violence and conflict in the name of religion is a terrible contradiction and a great offence against God. (...) We must all work to strengthen the growing commitment to interreligious dialogue, a great sign of hope for the peoples of the world. "As-salamu alaikum" - Peace be with you!".

The Mass celebrated in the Palace of Sports in Cairo with the participation of about 20,000 faithful was the first Eucharistic liturgy in Egypt celebrated in a public place, outside the walls of the church.