Catholics, Copts, Muslims: Bishop of Alexandria on Christianity in Egypt
Bishop Claudio Lurati explains that the Latin Catholic community in Egypt now numbers around 60,000, largely immigrants and Sudanese refugees, with only 1,000‑2,000 native Egyptians. He recalls Alexandria’s multicultural past, noting Italian and French architectural influences and the historic Jewish presence that shaped the city’s identity. Lurati stresses the cooperative relationship between Catholics, Coptic Orthodox, and Muslim communities, highlighting ongoing inter‑religious dialogue. The interview touches on the humanitarian disaster in Gaza, with the Church expressing concern for affected people. The conversation took place during a CELRA meeting in Rome, where Latin bishops from across the Arab world gathered.
27 days ago
Bishop Claudio Lurati, the Latin Apostolic Vicar of Alexandria, describes Egypt’s Catholic community, its close everyday ties with Coptic Orthodox Christians and Muslims, and the effects of the wars in Gaza and Sudan on the country’s religious life. 1
The Latin Catholic presence in Egypt dates back in part to St. Francis of Assisi’s 1219 meeting with Sultan Malik al-Kamil, after which Franciscan communities continued serving traders and diplomatic personnel. 1
The community expanded in the 19th century after Muhammad Ali invited Europeans—particularly from France, Italy, and Malta—to help develop Egypt’s infrastructure and economy. By the end of the Second World War, Roman Catholics, most of them foreigners, numbered about 120,000. 1
Nationalization of the Suez Canal prompted many foreigners to leave. Lurati estimates that Egypt now has around 60,000 Roman Catholics, including roughly 1,000–2,000 Egyptians and approximately 30,000–35,000 Sudanese refugees. 1
Lurati says Alexandria’s former multicultural character remains visible in its architecture, including buildings designed by Italian and French engineers. Memories of the city’s multiethnic society also persist among its inhabitants. 1
He recalls that Alexandria once had a Jewish community with more than 2,000 years of history, but says it disappeared amid the political and social upheavals of the past six decades. He also notes Alexandria’s importance in biblical and early Christian history. 1
The Coptic Orthodox Church is Egypt’s largest Christian community and, according to Lurati, the largest Christian church in the Middle East. Estimates place its size at about 10% of Egypt’s population—roughly 10–11 million people—with higher concentrations in some parts of Upper Egypt. 1
Lurati describes the Coptic Church as active and growing, with flourishing monasteries, many vocations, and churches present even in Cairo’s expanding neighborhoods. 1
Although the Catholic and Coptic Orthodox Churches carry out relatively few joint initiatives, their contact is routine. Lurati estimates that 70–80% of the employees of the Latin Catholic diocese are Orthodox Christians, while the churches visit one another on major occasions. 1
The Latin Church cooperates more extensively with the Coptic Catholic Church, which Lurati says has about 300,000 members and 10 dioceses. Catholic bishops also collaborate on education through approximately 170 Catholic schools across Egypt. 1
Because Muslims make up the overwhelming majority of people encountered in daily life, Lurati characterizes Catholic-Muslim contact in Egypt as constant. 1
He highlights the Dominican community’s library, which attracts Muslim students, and its continuing dialogue with Al-Azhar University. Dominican scholars also occasionally lecture at the institution, described in the interview as the most important Muslim educational center in Egypt. 1
Lurati says Egyptians sympathize strongly with Palestinians while also wanting to preserve the peace established with Israel. He describes Egypt’s border with Gaza as closed, although thousands of Palestinians have entered the country because of family connections or medical needs. 1
Many of the Palestinians he has encountered were seriously injured in Israeli bombardments, including people using wheelchairs. 1
He says the refugees most visible to the Catholic Church in Egypt are not Palestinians but Sudanese, following the arrival of approximately one million people from Sudan over the previous three years. Some are Catholic, and the influx has brought the number of Catholics from Sudan and South Sudan in Egypt to about 35,000. 1*
Latin Catholic presence in Egypt: historical roots and contemporary interfaith relations
Egypt’s Christian history long predates the specifically Latin presence. Alexandria was evangelized by Saint Mark and became a major centre of Christian theology through figures such as Clement, Origen, Athanasius, and Cyril. Egypt was also the birthplace of Christian monasticism through Saints Anthony and Pachomius.
The Latin Church’s institutional presence developed later and should be distinguished from the Coptic Catholic Church, which is an Eastern Catholic Church preserving the Coptic tradition while being in communion with Rome. A union with Rome was proclaimed at the Council of Florence in 1442, but it initially had little practical effect in Egypt. More sustained Catholic missionary work among Copts began in the seventeenth century, particularly through Franciscans, Capuchins, and Jesuits.
In 1741, Pope Benedict XIV appointed Athanasius, a Coptic Orthodox bishop who had entered communion with Rome, as apostolic vicar for Coptic Catholics. Although Athanasius later returned to the Orthodox Church, apostolic vicars continued to serve the Catholic Copts. The Coptic Catholic patriarchate was finally restored by Pope Leo XIII in 1895, and its first patriarchal administrator, Cyril Makarios, was named Patriarch of Alexandria of the Copts in 1899.
The Latin hierarchy followed a different path. Crusader-era Latin patriarchal structures connected with Alexandria eventually became merely titular after the collapse of Latin political power in the eastern Mediterranean. By the early twentieth century, the Latin presence in Egypt was organized principally as an apostolic vicariate rather than as a functioning residential patriarchate. Its pastoral work especially served Europeans and other foreign communities, while religious orders maintained schools and charitable institutions.
This history explains why “Latin Catholic presence” in Egypt has never meant that Catholicism is simply a foreign ecclesial import. Alongside Latin clergy and religious congregations, there has been an indigenous Coptic Catholic community with its own hierarchy, liturgical tradition, and Egyptian identity.
Catholic activity in Egypt has historically extended beyond sacramental ministry. In Alexandria, Jesuits directed schools, the Christian Brothers conducted educational and technical institutions, and women religious operated schools for girls.
The Holy See has repeatedly emphasized education, healthcare, social assistance, literacy, and the advancement of women as central forms of Catholic service in Egyptian society. Pope John Paul II described these activities not as claims to privilege but as the Church’s way of living her vocation in the country.
The Catholic contribution therefore has a dual character:
This approach also reflects an important ecclesiological principle: the Church in Egypt is not meant to exist as an isolated foreign enclave. In 1968, the Holy See stated that the Catholic Church, while universal, should remain faithful to local cultures and contribute to the national life of Arab Egypt.
The closest Christian relationship is naturally with the Coptic Orthodox Church. Both communities share the Egyptian Christian heritage, devotion to the ancient Alexandrian tradition, and belief in Christ, while remaining separated ecclesially.
Catholic teaching recognizes baptism as the sacramental foundation of communion among Christians. Pope John Paul II therefore encouraged mutual recognition of the common Christian inheritance while acknowledging differences in the way faith is expressed and the sacraments are celebrated.
Ecumenical relations have included cooperation in education and charitable assistance. The Holy See also praised concrete gestures of Catholic support for the Coptic Orthodox Church, including the transfer of church buildings for Orthodox use. Such actions illustrate an ecumenism based not merely on formal dialogue but on practical charity and respect.
Nevertheless, fraternity does not eliminate doctrinal and pastoral difficulties. The Catholic documents themselves refer to misunderstandings and unresolved obstacles to full communion. The relationship is therefore best understood as one of substantial shared Christian heritage, growing cooperation, and incomplete ecclesial unity.
Because Muslims constitute the religious majority in Egypt, Catholic–Muslim relations are central to the Church’s public mission. Pope John Paul II called dialogue with Islam particularly important in Egypt and connected it with cooperation for justice, peace, brotherhood, and opposition to terrorism.
The Catholic vision is not one of religious competition for political dominance. It stresses:
Pope John Paul II argued that Christians and Muslims should regard one another as partners in building society, not as enemies. He also insisted that Christians have both the right and the duty to contribute to public life while remaining faithful to their own identity.
This position combines openness with realism. Interfaith dialogue does not require Catholics to conceal Christian convictions or treat religious differences as irrelevant. Rather, it seeks honest engagement grounded in respect, justice, and the dignity of every person.
The Catholic presence in Egypt is therefore best understood as a layered historical reality:
The Holy See presents Egypt’s Christian communities as historically rooted participants in the nation, not accidental outsiders. Pope Francis similarly described Egyptian Christians—Coptic Orthodox, Catholics, and other communities—as integral to Egypt’s history and praised the possibility of transforming religious difference into mutual enrichment rather than conflict.
The central challenge remains maintaining Catholic identity while serving a religiously plural society. The Catholic model proposed in these texts is neither withdrawal nor assimilation: it is faithful presence—worshipping according to one’s tradition, serving the wider society, defending justice and religious freedom, and building relationships with Coptic Orthodox Christians and Muslims.