The Coptic Orthodox Church announced the death of Father Markos Matias, priest of the Church of St. George in Tala, Menoufia at the age of 92. He was born on April 8, 1927, and was ordained a priest on 19 October 1947 and spent about 72 years in priestly services.

His Holiness Pope Tawadrous II held a meeting with the priests of the east of the railway at the Papal Headquarters of the Cathedral of St. Mark in Abbassia. The meeting was attended by Bishop Martirous of the diocese and wives of the priests. Such meetings are held by the Pope to communicate with the priests of the various pastoral sectors in Alexandria and Cairo.

Bishop Demetrious of Meloi, Ansna and Ashmounin, ordained 5 new consecrated nuns for the ministry in the diocese. The new Consecrated nuns are Helena, Mora, Yulianh, Florina, and Petronia. The consecration system in the Coptic Orthodox Church requires them to be virgins of 25 years old or widows for more than 5 years and those must exceed 50 years old.

His Eminence Bishop Boutros of Shebin El Qanater ordained a new priest yesterday for the ministry in the church of St. George and St. Bishoy in Marg. Father Estifanous Rizk headed to St. Mina monastery in Mariout to spend 40 days of spiritual retreat according to the Coptic rituals.

Ambassador Amr Abdel-Wareth, Ambassador of Egypt to Namibia, said that a medical convoy of the Coptic Church visited Namibia with 22 doctors from Egyptian origins. The convey has been working in Namibia from 22 February to 1 March under the chairmanship of Dr. Hani Lamei Eshemullah, Head of Oncology at Presbyterian Hospital in New York City and had conducted about 200 surgeries free of charge for the poor.

Abba Takla, Bishop of Dishna, ordained three new priests to serve in the ministry of people with special needs. The new presets are Father Abakir Boktor, Father Begoul Fam, and Father Rouis Nazim.

HG Bishop Makarious of Minya opened yesterday St. Maria Medical Center at the church of St. George in Nazelt Hinnis and visited a number of patients in the village. During the pastoral visit, Bishop Makarious have celebrated the holy mass, ordained 15 new deacons and inaugurated the holy vessels.

HG Bishop Befnotius of Samalot ordained yesterday three new deacons. The new deacons have been graduated from the Theological seminary and they are deacon Remon Charley Jacob, deacon Yonan Munir Ayad, and deacon Anthony Yacob Thabet.

A delegation of Coptic youth from France is currently visiting Egypt for one week. The young people have spent couple of days at Logos Papal centre at the monastery of St. Bishoy in Wadil Natroun. During the week, they participated in Sunday school service at the nearby villages of the monastery.

His Eminence Bishop Gabriel of Beni Suef inaugurated the Church of the Virgin Mary and St. Simon the Shoe-maker. This came during the pastoral visit of the bishop to the village.

Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark Seek ordained 13 new priests for churches in Cairo, New Jersey and Greece. The new priests were assigned to minister in churches of Salam city, Shubra, Eastern Railway stations, Fagala, Nasr City, Heliopolis, Old Cairo and Badr City. Morover, one priest was ordained to minister in New Jersey and another priest for Greece.

Bishop Bakhomios, former acting Patriarch and Archbishop of Behaira, ordained two new deacons with the participation of Bishop Isaac, the general bishop and head of St .Makarious in Qalali mount. This came at the end of the second meeting of consecration entitled Follow Me.

Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark See, received today Cardinal Bruno Mozaro, the Apostolic Viceroy of Egypt. They discussed the relations between the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church, and how to achieve unity between the two churches.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II received today a delegation from Priests of the Catholic Churches in Milan. The delegation consisted of 130 priests who came as pilgrims to Egypt in order to visit the path of the holy family in Egypt.

The official page of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Jerusalem of the Monastery of St. Anthony in Jerusalem announced the death of Father Gera, member of the clergy serving the monastery. The funeral prayer was headed by Bishop Anthony of Jerusalem at St. George s Monastery in Jerusalem.

The Upper Egyptian -American star Rami Malek who made it to the Oscars and received Best Actor award said I am the son of immigrants from Egypt, a first-generation American... and part of my story is being written right now. I could not be more grateful to each and every one of you, and everyone who believed in me for this moment. Rami Malik, is an Egyptian-American actor, who was born in Los Angeles in May 12, 1981, to Egyptian immigrant parents who are Saeed Malek and Nelly Abdel Malek who came from Smalout, located in Upper Egypt.

Patriarch Boutros Fahim, Bishop of the Coptic Catholic Church of Minya, announced the arrival of His Eminence Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, head of the Eastern Churches in Rome, and the Vatican s ambassador to Egypt, Bruno Mutzaro, arrived in Minya this morning for a pastoral care visit. They were received by many clergy including priests and nuns of various monasteries.

Bishop Bachoum of Suhag handed out trophies of the Al-Keraza Carnival during the celebration held at the Cathedral of the diocese. It is worth mentioning that more than 21.000 youth from the diocese have participated in the Carnival this year.

Funeral of Father Salib Matta Sawiris held in Shubra at St. George Church in Jouishi, Shibra, in the presence of a number of Bishops, priests and the congregation of the church. Pope Tawadros has delegated Father Ammonius Adel, secretary of His Holiness, to participate in the prayers and offer his sincere condolences.

A delegation of Latin bishops in the Middle East and the Arab region have visited Pope Tawadros II in the papal headquarters in Cairo. The delegation was accompanied by Abba Prono Mozaro, ambassador of the Vatican. The Council began its meetings today at the headquarters of the Coptic Catholic Seminary in Maadi.

A delegation from Coptic youth in Austria and Switzerland concluded their visit to Egypt by visiting the Military Technical College where a ceremony was held for them in cooperation with the Ministries of Immigration and Egyptians Affairs, Youth and Sports. The visit to Egypt lasted for two weeks to link the youth to their home country. They met with Pope Twadros II and held a conference at the Pontifical Logos Center in Wadi El Natroun.