Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Cairo (Agenzia Fides) - Boutros Boutros Ghali was "a faithful man to his nation" who "defended peace in all the roles he carried out". This is how Coptic Orthodox Patriarch Tawadros II paid tribute to the figure of the Egyptian politician and diplomat, who died at the age of 93 on February 16, during the funeral he celebrated on Thursday, February 18 in the Coptic cathedral in Cairo. Boutros Ghali, of Christian Coptic faith, had been from 1992 to 1996 the first UN Secretary General born in Africa.
Before the Christian funeral celebrated in the Coptic cathedral, a civil and military tribute to the figure of the deceased was held in a mosque in the suburbs of Cairo, in the presence of Patriarch Tawadros, Egyptian President Adel Fattah Sisi and Sheikh Ahmed al Tayyeb, Grand Imam of al-Azhar. Boutros Ghali's coffin, draped in the Egyptian flag, was then transported to the cathedral. The funeral was also attended by a large group of Egyptian, African and European diplomats.
In recent days, Pope Francis had sent the current UN Secretary General, Korean Ban Ki-moon, a telegram in which he expressed his condolences for the death of Boutros Ghali, and paid tribute to his life spent "at the generous service to his country and the international community". (GV) (Agenzia Fides 19/02/2016)
ASIA/PAKISTAN - Full support for the Palestinian people: Peace in the Middle East lies in the "two-state solution"
AFRICA/CAMEROON - Bishops on the attack on the Catholic Church: among those who attack the churches there are also members of our communities