AFRICA/EGYPT - The army rebuilds a Catholic school devastated by Islamists in Beni Suef

Beni Suef (Agenzia Fides) – The primary school of Beni Suef, run by the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which was burned and destroyed during the Islamist assaults suffered by churches and Christian schools during the riots in August 2013, was rebuilt in time in order to start the new school year - which begins tomorrow. The Egyptian army took the responsibility of rebuilding the school in the town located 115 km south of Cairo, and after the eruption of violence fomented by Salafist groups or close to the Muslim Brotherhood, the army announced its intention to repair the devastated Christian buildings. "Last week – says to Fides His Exc. Mgr. Adel Zaki OFM, episcopal Vicar of Alessandreia of Egypt for the Catholics of the Latin rite - a big party was organized where many former students, Christians and Muslims, expressed gratitude for the work carried out for so many years by the nuns. The cross of the school, not far from the station, was clearly visible by train passengers passing through. The reopening of educational institute represented in some way an opportunity for reconciliation between Christians and Muslims in the area, in the sign of shared gratitude for the work done by the nuns to the service of the entire population of the governorate".(GV) (Agenzia Fides 19/09/2014)