Approaching the residence of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Egypt in the high -end suburbs of Cairo of Heliopolis, white smoke seemed to rise from the garden in the mist of the city.
However, the sound of stone masonry tools emanating behind the door quickly clarified that it was just dust coming from a saw to cut paving stones for the renovation of the vast and well -maintained gardens of the residence.
Later Wednesday, while the eyes of the 1.4 billion Catholics in the world – and those of many others – were obsessed with Place St Peter's, the infamous black smoke was raised from the fireplace. No candidate had obtained the majority of two -thirds necessary. In the second round.
Back in Cairo, Mgr Claudio Lurati, bishop of the apostolic vicariate of Alexandria, which serves as main competence for the Roman Catholics in Egypt, seemed to enjoy the process from afar. “It's totally unpredictable,” he smiles.
The region that encompasses the Middle East and North Africa only shelters 1% of Catholics in the world, but maintains an essential role both spiritually and politically for the Church, especially because it encompasses the Holy Land. It also houses seven different confessions of Catholics, as well as many other non -Catholic communities.
Addressing Euronews far from Cairene's warmth in the shade of her residence, Mgr Lurati applied that this conclave could take days.
“We do not see really clear evenings. It can therefore make the process long. People could be more free to follow their conscience and what I believe that the Holy Spirit will inspire them to do,” he told Euronews.
“They also need basic time to know each other,” he adds. This is the first time that many of the 133 cardinals of 70 competing countries have met in person, 108 of which have been appointed by the late Pope Francis.
This led to sometimes strange scenes of cardinals perplexed by the microphones and cameras of the world's media around Rome and inside the city of the Vatican.
“ Very warm '': remembering Francis from the Middle East
The fanfare around the election of a new pope did not overshadow the memory of the revolutionary and, for some, the controversial papacy of Pope Francis, in particular in the Middle East.
“I think that Pope Francis's pontificate will tenderly remain in Islamic-Christian relations for the praxis of interreligious dialogue,” explains Father Michael O'Sullivan.
Father Michael has been working in the region for decades for decades, especially as rector of Notre Dame d'Afrique, an imposing basilica that leaves the Algerian capital in the Mediterranean and as director of the Interfaith Center of Abraham in Jerusalem.
More recently, he coordinated the historic visit of the deceased pontiff to the United Arab Emirates, helping to organize a mass collecting 180,000 faithful.
Francis co-signed the historical declaration of Abu Dhabi on interfait cooperation with Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayeb, the great imam of Al-Azhar in Cairo-largely considered as the highest authority of Sunni Islamic thought and case law.
In an interview with Euronews from his home in Ireland, Father Michael reiterated that “relations between (the region) and the Holy Father were very warm”.
ADVERTISEMENTHowever, he admitted that “was not without controversy”.
The more conservative clergy questioned certain elements of the Abu Dhabi agreement, Father Michael said. “There is almost a Koranic quote in this papal statement, which I guess that the conservatives of the Catholic Church were not satisfied.”
Looking at the east, looking to the west
For Catholics in the region, the possibility of electing a new pope seems to be a Damascus path for the church.
A few hundred meters away in Beirut Street, far from the Roman Catholic residence, is the Melkite St Cyril church. The first church to be erected in the region, when it was built in 1910, it is now behind the high walls.
ADVERTISEMENTTwo boring police officers have not played with their machine guns outside, a nod to the series of bomb attacks in the past ten years who are still housed in the psyche of Egyptian Christians.
The interior is Father Rafic Abouna, the church priest for more than three decades, and the former spokesperson for the Vatican in Egypt. The room was dark, only lit by the light of the sun pumped.
“It's the day of the conclave and they cut the electricity,” he laughs.
After a short discussion but animated on the correct use of the titles of the church, Father Rafic quickly undertakes what he hopes that the papacy of Pope Francis and what he hopes will not.
ADVERTISEMENTHe praised the dedication of the deceased pontiff to the protection of refugees, whose mandate supervised the rise in extremist Islamist policy and terrorism in the region, forcing a wave of refugees – including hundreds of thousands of Christians – to flee their homes, often heading for the West.
In Egypt, the interrelage between former President Hosni Mubarak and holder Abdel Fattah El-Sissi was marred, in the eyes of Father Rafic and Monsignor Lurati, by the instability and danger caused by the brief rule of the Muslim Brotherhood.
“At least 100,000 Christians I know fled,” said Rafic, adding that they were largely “elites” and “returned” to what they consider a more stable nation.
The priest of Melkite deplored the increasingly hostile policies of Western countries towards migrants and distinguished the American and Catholic vice-president converted by JD Vance with Pope Francis, a fierce and frank critic of the American administration, whose immigration policies that he described as “a ugly thing … a dishonitation”.
ADVERTISEMENT“I don't think JD is a good representative of Christianity,” he said to Euronews, adding that he thought the Pope looked very impressed by the visit. The Pope died a day later.
However, Vance was not the only senior American politician in his eyes. “Biden was just as bad,” he exclaims. “Any Catholic who can accept abortion is not a real Catholic,” he exclaimed.
This indicates a broader point of collision for Father Rafic and many other Christians in the region. Some of the faithful believe that Christians in the Middle East and North Africa tend to be more conservative in relation to what the Church now boasts as its values, especially during the reign of Pope Francis.
Meanwhile, others would prefer a more progressive pontiff, which would continue what they say to be an essential reform that Pope Francis has adopted.
ADVERTISEMENTFather Rafic strikes any “political” description of the Church. “I would not use liberal or conservative terms. It is a question of moral discipline ”.
However, he suggests that “two forces influenced Pope Francis”, putting him in a more integrated social policy on gender and sexual identity issues, namely the increasingly liberal German Catholic Church and the former Anglican archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.
“They were very good friends, he has always been in Rome,” said Rafic about the latter. “The initiates know that it was important in Pope Francis' decision to bless the same sex couples.”
The Papal Decree led to an unprecedented contestation of the papal authority of dioceses around the world, especially in the Middle East.
ADVERTISEMENTBishop Lurati does not agree. “I think he played a big role by advancing and accelerating a process that was already taking place. That of making the Church really universal and international. ”
“It was already happening. But he has certainly accelerated the process. ”
By focusing on the incoming pope, however, Father Rafic was convinced that “all these social problems will disappear”.
'Boiling point': a region at war
The Pontiff Entering will have many problems on his plate from around the world, but conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa could dominate his functions.
ADVERTISEMENTThe conflict in Lebanon, which houses the highest percentage of Christians in the region, remains on board with the Hezbollah militia refusing to abandon arms and Israel continues to strike.
While Father Michael hoped that Hezbollah and the “cut wings” of Iran could help bring stability, he thought that certain parts of the region were always at “boiling point”.
In neighboring Syria, the last months have seen violence afflict various communities. While Christians have been spared so far, Father Rafic – whose name of Melkite is rooted in Lebanon and Syria – says that many have already fled, including his church.
“We take care of them and they take care of us,” he smiles.
ADVERTISEMENTThen there is South Sudan, the youngest country in the world, whose relatively short history was “marked by poverty and conflicts,” said bishop Christian Carlassare in Euronews of his diocese in the city of Bentiu.
“It is not in fact a poor country, because the resources are abundant. But people live badly because of so much instability and violence. Corruption is also widespread. “
Some observers believe that understanding these conflicts could give Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, an advantage in the conclave.
Pizzaballa drew global attention for proposing to change places with a child hostage in Gaza following the attacks of Hamas October 7 and to hold a mass for the 700 Christians remaining in the band in December 2024.
ADVERTISEMENTThe people to which Euronews spoke in the region was less safe, citing his young age – 60 live – for one.
But none of this is personal, they say. For them, it was less background or personality than the values that the new pope will represent.
“While we feel so much injustice and violence, we need a church chief who can continue to indicate the values of God and his Gospels as the only means towards reconciliation and peace,” concluded Bishop Carlassare.
Leaving his unlit residence in the fierce Egyptian sun, Father Rafic refuses to speculate on who could become the new pope.
ADVERTISEMENT“There are always surprises with the Lord and the Holy Spirit,” he smiles, a slightly raised eyebrow.
