H.H. Pope Tawadros II
In November 2012 the altar lot named him the 118th successor of St Mark — in one of the most difficult political moments of recent Egyptian history.
From pharmacist to monk
Born on 4 November 1952 in Mansoura as Wagih Sobhi Baqi Suleiman, he read pharmacy in Alexandria and later managed a state pharmaceutical company in Damanhour.
In 1986 he left professional life for the Monastery of St Pishoy in Wadi el-Natrun and was tonsured a monk in 1988. His methodical, solution-minded manner is still traced back to that training.
A pontificate in crisis
As churches were destroyed across Egypt in the summer of 2013 he gave the sentence that sums up his leadership: “A homeland without churches is better than churches without a homeland.”
After Coptic workers were murdered in Libya in 2015 he declared the victims martyrs at once and called for forgiveness.
Visits to Austria
Pope Tawadros II has visited Austria several times: he consecrated churches in Vienna, Linz, Graz and Wernstein, stayed at St Anthony's Monastery, and opened its museum in 2022.
In the same year he consecrated the churches of St Anne's Convent in Schönfeld.