In 1992 Egypt saw the birth of an Egyptian Franciscan province, into whose hands most of the convents that had belonged to the province of the Holy Land Custody passed. Today, the latter has only two convents here, both in the center of Cairo. Saint Joseph Convent is home to five friars. Built in 1904, it is enormous. That was the colonial period and the European faithful, for whom this was the parish church, were very numerous. Today, the six Sunday Masses (one in Arabic, one in Italian, one in English and three in French) serve about a hundred families, but this does not reflect the Christian presence in the sprawling city of 18 million inhabitants that is Cairo; most Egyptian Christians are Coptic.
The fifty-three-year-old Egyptian friar Brother Mamdouh Shehab Bassilios, is pastor of this parish to which he is devoted. Professor of both liturgy and the history of the Eastern Churches both in Cairo and in Rome, he is particularly attentive to the liturgy, especially for the Eucharist. Living in Cairo for the past eleven years, he initiated the weekly Sunday liturgy sheet, printed in English, French, Italian and Arabic, as well as a daily liturgy sheet in Arabic and French, because the two daily Masses are celebrated in French, a language known well by many Egyptian Christians, particularly those who attended the Christian Brothers’ schools. This initiative has gained him the admiration of many of the heads of sister Churches, Catholic or not, who find that this dissemination of the Word of God is an excellent thing. The parish has an excellent choir that sometimes gives concerts. Brother Mamdouh is also guardian of the convent and its treasurer, as well as teaching and lecturing in various places on the history of the Oriental Churches.
Among his brothers, he is a guardian who is respectful of the diversity of each one, and who loves the senior brothers. Brother Luigi Luciano, an Egyptian national his name notwithstanding, is the oldest. Ill, he leaves his room only rarely, except for the evening Mass. At 83 years of age, he is the prayerful watchman of the community. Following closely behind is Brother Lucas El-Oseily, 79, also Egyptian. Brother Luca has some memory problems. He can most usually be found in the church, awaiting penitents. He is surely a confessor filled with the goodness and good humor that he lives and breathes. He likes to pray his Office in English, and also speaks French and Italian. If you really want to make him smile, give him chocolates, but you’ll want to hand them over to the convent’s guardian who carefully watches over his brother’s diabetes!
Brother Anselmo Paparella, 71 years old, has been in Egypt for over 40 years, the first twenty in Alexandria, and since then in Cairo. Every morning, after Mass and breakfast, he gets behind the wheel of his car and heads for the Custody’s cemetery, a twenty-minute drive away. The first to greet him there are four or five dogs who escort the car, and then the friar on foot as he heads for his office. When not attending to administrative affairs, Brother Anselmo works with the three employees who maintain the cemetery with him. He likes to lend a hand and encourage the workers. A visit to the cemetery is impressive because of the funerary art. Some of the mausoleums look like miniature houses, and the family names reveal the size of the Italian and French communities. Most surprising is that, without a doubt, and no matter how much poverty there is in Cairo, there are still families who have very imposing tombs erected, like the latest one, which covers an area of 20 square meters and has just been adorned with mosaics. Along with Masses, the cemetery is one of the community’s resources, and Brother Anselmo supervises the distribution of concessions. Given Cairo’s housing shortage, the presence of the night watchman is clearly necessary.
Brother Antonio Raimondo, 60, has own morning rounds. He goes to the kindergarten that he opened in one of the very poor suburbs of the city. Brother Antonio has been living in Egypt for over forty years. He loves the country, he loves its people, he loves the poor. Really. And he gives them his all. This kindergarten is not a Custody project, it is the fruit of Brother Antonio’s love, of his energy and of the energy of the people he has been able to mobilize in Italy as well in as in his country of adoption. When he arrives, the children surround him, cling to him. He listens to their news, makes sure everything is okay, and then he is off to inquire about the progress of a new space for the poor being built not far away. The work is advancing, and the workmen are proud; it is most beautiful building for kilometers around. It was built thanks to an inheritance. Brother Antonio’s is concerned about assuring the continued existence of these projects, which is why he is in the process of creating an association together with parishioners. But anyone who wants to help will be welcome. Brother Antonio would like to prepare fund-raising leaflets, and in another domain, he is also crafting the parish’s Internet site (www.stjoseph-ofm.org), with the technical assistance of a young parishioner and other laypeople. Together with them and with Brother Mamdouh, two months ago he launched a documentation center. He is working on organizing the Custody’s archives in particular, and he wishes to have as much information as possible on line, but also to publish books. More than five places are set at the Saint Joseph Convent dining table, because the convent is also home to Christian students of different denominations who are pursuing their studies in Cairo, be it in Arabic language, Islam or the history of the Oriental Churches. There have been as many as twelve, but at the moment there are three students, and at the time of our visit there were also two others come for shorter stays. This lends mealtimes an atmosphere of rich sharing. Other, more unexpected, “guests” are a colony of budgerigars and parakeets. Since the “bird flu” is being aggressively addressed in Egypt, several parishioners have confided their pets to the friars. In addition, five Franciscan Elizabethan Sisters of Padua live close to the community; one serves as sacristan, while the others are nurses in the city.
From Abdin to Muski
Twenty minutes’ walk from Saint Joseph’s and we arrive at the Convent of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in the Muski district. Going from one district to the other, smack in the middle of Cairo, you cross a city without the presence of Westerners because these are not the areas that attract tourists. The center of Cairo is poor, sometimes very poor indeed. It is a city of immense disparity in lifestyles. Heavy smog covers it and it seems that the motor traffic never stops. People drive a lot in Cairo, where fuel costs less than a dollar per liter. But they drive in cars that elsewhere would be excellent finds for a collector. Here, where cars are 80% more expensive than in Europe, 30-year-old (and older) vehicles give the city an old-fashioned air, while gaily polluting it. Crossing the street is an ongoing game of chicken. The cars never stop, and the traffic lights are rarely obeyed. If there happens to be no policeman directing traffic – although there are many in the city – you just have to throw yourself into the traffic. It is fairly impressive to play this variation on Russian roulette, to see six cars coming directly toward you, to let yourself be caught in an iron plate sandwich. The safest bet is to take a taxi, and it is also fairly inexpensive, especially if you are careful enough to set the price before setting out. Fascinating Cairo, where in the heart of a slum where people live by sorting refuse you find an Internet café! Muski is not far from one of Cairo’s very old Coptic churches, one of the many Egyptian churches attached to the tradition of the passage of the Holy Family in the country. Coptic art is of rare and timeless beauty. The proof is in a visit to Old Cairo, in the south of the city, where you can also the Museum of Coptic Art, recently remarkably renovated; you can also visit Muski. The convent is located in an old palace built by Venetians and given to the Custody in 1633. As a parish church it once served as many as 20,000 souls, mostly Italian, but the new geography of parishes in 1920, the Egyptian Revolution and then the nationalization of the Suez Canal all caused an exodus of Western parishioners. The parish now consists of local families. In 1954, the Custody decided to convert the convent to a Franciscan Center of Oriental Studies, ideally placed in terms of its proximity to other libraries, like those of the Jesuits, the Dominicans, the Coptic Archeological Society and the Faculty of Religious Sciences. There are two Franciscans in residence, two masters of erudition, two passionate researchers, who watch over one of the Custody’s treasures, the Center’s library. With more than 100,000 items in its collection, it is the richest library of the life of Christian communities in the Middle East. Scholars from the world over come to consult the works accumulated over the years, whether from former Custody convents or by purchase. How the friars wish they had the money to continue to make acquisitions. But given the lack of means, the friars take note and do their best with what they have, with what they are, to compensate. Of course, new computers are needed (especially to consult microfiche and microfilm), some of the very early printed books need to be restored, others to be better preserved, etc. With their three employees, the friars organize, inventory and, lately, computerize the library.
From Monday to Thursday the Center is open to the students, mostly Muslims, who come to study. The friars help the students with their research, translate extracts for them from Greek, Latin, Armenian and other languages. Then, the friars have their own research. The resident friars are Brother Vincenzo Mistrih, 71, and Brother Wadi Abuliif-Malik, 53. The latter is also a teacher. The Center is a locus of sharing between religions, between denominations, of mutual discovery and the desire to continue working in this direction. At the end of January, they will host the Tenth Congress of Arab Christian Specialists in Oriental Studies. The friars, who have numerous projects, do not want for work. The Custody’s new Internet site will give Muski a bit more visibility and content, and the latest catalog of the Center’s publications will be online.
The convent compound also includes a kindergarten run by a religious congregation. After the birds of Saint Joseph’s and the dogs of the cemetery, at Muski you find a little cat named Brenda. It is clear that the Egyptian friars, “poor among the poor” as they like to say and as they live, are true sons of Saint Francis.
The friars of Cairo send you their greetings; they would be delighted to meet you any time.
MAB
The fifty-three-year-old Egyptian friar Brother Mamdouh Shehab Bassilios, is pastor of this parish to which he is devoted. Professor of both liturgy and the history of the Eastern Churches both in Cairo and in Rome, he is particularly attentive to the liturgy, especially for the Eucharist. Living in Cairo for the past eleven years, he initiated the weekly Sunday liturgy sheet, printed in English, French, Italian and Arabic, as well as a daily liturgy sheet in Arabic and French, because the two daily Masses are celebrated in French, a language known well by many Egyptian Christians, particularly those who attended the Christian Brothers’ schools. This initiative has gained him the admiration of many of the heads of sister Churches, Catholic or not, who find that this dissemination of the Word of God is an excellent thing. The parish has an excellent choir that sometimes gives concerts. Brother Mamdouh is also guardian of the convent and its treasurer, as well as teaching and lecturing in various places on the history of the Oriental Churches.
Among his brothers, he is a guardian who is respectful of the diversity of each one, and who loves the senior brothers. Brother Luigi Luciano, an Egyptian national his name notwithstanding, is the oldest. Ill, he leaves his room only rarely, except for the evening Mass. At 83 years of age, he is the prayerful watchman of the community. Following closely behind is Brother Lucas El-Oseily, 79, also Egyptian. Brother Luca has some memory problems. He can most usually be found in the church, awaiting penitents. He is surely a confessor filled with the goodness and good humor that he lives and breathes. He likes to pray his Office in English, and also speaks French and Italian. If you really want to make him smile, give him chocolates, but you’ll want to hand them over to the convent’s guardian who carefully watches over his brother’s diabetes!
Brother Anselmo Paparella, 71 years old, has been in Egypt for over 40 years, the first twenty in Alexandria, and since then in Cairo. Every morning, after Mass and breakfast, he gets behind the wheel of his car and heads for the Custody’s cemetery, a twenty-minute drive away. The first to greet him there are four or five dogs who escort the car, and then the friar on foot as he heads for his office. When not attending to administrative affairs, Brother Anselmo works with the three employees who maintain the cemetery with him. He likes to lend a hand and encourage the workers. A visit to the cemetery is impressive because of the funerary art. Some of the mausoleums look like miniature houses, and the family names reveal the size of the Italian and French communities. Most surprising is that, without a doubt, and no matter how much poverty there is in Cairo, there are still families who have very imposing tombs erected, like the latest one, which covers an area of 20 square meters and has just been adorned with mosaics. Along with Masses, the cemetery is one of the community’s resources, and Brother Anselmo supervises the distribution of concessions. Given Cairo’s housing shortage, the presence of the night watchman is clearly necessary.
Brother Antonio Raimondo, 60, has own morning rounds. He goes to the kindergarten that he opened in one of the very poor suburbs of the city. Brother Antonio has been living in Egypt for over forty years. He loves the country, he loves its people, he loves the poor. Really. And he gives them his all. This kindergarten is not a Custody project, it is the fruit of Brother Antonio’s love, of his energy and of the energy of the people he has been able to mobilize in Italy as well in as in his country of adoption. When he arrives, the children surround him, cling to him. He listens to their news, makes sure everything is okay, and then he is off to inquire about the progress of a new space for the poor being built not far away. The work is advancing, and the workmen are proud; it is most beautiful building for kilometers around. It was built thanks to an inheritance. Brother Antonio’s is concerned about assuring the continued existence of these projects, which is why he is in the process of creating an association together with parishioners. But anyone who wants to help will be welcome. Brother Antonio would like to prepare fund-raising leaflets, and in another domain, he is also crafting the parish’s Internet site (www.stjoseph-ofm.org), with the technical assistance of a young parishioner and other laypeople. Together with them and with Brother Mamdouh, two months ago he launched a documentation center. He is working on organizing the Custody’s archives in particular, and he wishes to have as much information as possible on line, but also to publish books. More than five places are set at the Saint Joseph Convent dining table, because the convent is also home to Christian students of different denominations who are pursuing their studies in Cairo, be it in Arabic language, Islam or the history of the Oriental Churches. There have been as many as twelve, but at the moment there are three students, and at the time of our visit there were also two others come for shorter stays. This lends mealtimes an atmosphere of rich sharing. Other, more unexpected, “guests” are a colony of budgerigars and parakeets. Since the “bird flu” is being aggressively addressed in Egypt, several parishioners have confided their pets to the friars. In addition, five Franciscan Elizabethan Sisters of Padua live close to the community; one serves as sacristan, while the others are nurses in the city.
From Abdin to Muski
Twenty minutes’ walk from Saint Joseph’s and we arrive at the Convent of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in the Muski district. Going from one district to the other, smack in the middle of Cairo, you cross a city without the presence of Westerners because these are not the areas that attract tourists. The center of Cairo is poor, sometimes very poor indeed. It is a city of immense disparity in lifestyles. Heavy smog covers it and it seems that the motor traffic never stops. People drive a lot in Cairo, where fuel costs less than a dollar per liter. But they drive in cars that elsewhere would be excellent finds for a collector. Here, where cars are 80% more expensive than in Europe, 30-year-old (and older) vehicles give the city an old-fashioned air, while gaily polluting it. Crossing the street is an ongoing game of chicken. The cars never stop, and the traffic lights are rarely obeyed. If there happens to be no policeman directing traffic – although there are many in the city – you just have to throw yourself into the traffic. It is fairly impressive to play this variation on Russian roulette, to see six cars coming directly toward you, to let yourself be caught in an iron plate sandwich. The safest bet is to take a taxi, and it is also fairly inexpensive, especially if you are careful enough to set the price before setting out. Fascinating Cairo, where in the heart of a slum where people live by sorting refuse you find an Internet café! Muski is not far from one of Cairo’s very old Coptic churches, one of the many Egyptian churches attached to the tradition of the passage of the Holy Family in the country. Coptic art is of rare and timeless beauty. The proof is in a visit to Old Cairo, in the south of the city, where you can also the Museum of Coptic Art, recently remarkably renovated; you can also visit Muski. The convent is located in an old palace built by Venetians and given to the Custody in 1633. As a parish church it once served as many as 20,000 souls, mostly Italian, but the new geography of parishes in 1920, the Egyptian Revolution and then the nationalization of the Suez Canal all caused an exodus of Western parishioners. The parish now consists of local families. In 1954, the Custody decided to convert the convent to a Franciscan Center of Oriental Studies, ideally placed in terms of its proximity to other libraries, like those of the Jesuits, the Dominicans, the Coptic Archeological Society and the Faculty of Religious Sciences. There are two Franciscans in residence, two masters of erudition, two passionate researchers, who watch over one of the Custody’s treasures, the Center’s library. With more than 100,000 items in its collection, it is the richest library of the life of Christian communities in the Middle East. Scholars from the world over come to consult the works accumulated over the years, whether from former Custody convents or by purchase. How the friars wish they had the money to continue to make acquisitions. But given the lack of means, the friars take note and do their best with what they have, with what they are, to compensate. Of course, new computers are needed (especially to consult microfiche and microfilm), some of the very early printed books need to be restored, others to be better preserved, etc. With their three employees, the friars organize, inventory and, lately, computerize the library.
From Monday to Thursday the Center is open to the students, mostly Muslims, who come to study. The friars help the students with their research, translate extracts for them from Greek, Latin, Armenian and other languages. Then, the friars have their own research. The resident friars are Brother Vincenzo Mistrih, 71, and Brother Wadi Abuliif-Malik, 53. The latter is also a teacher. The Center is a locus of sharing between religions, between denominations, of mutual discovery and the desire to continue working in this direction. At the end of January, they will host the Tenth Congress of Arab Christian Specialists in Oriental Studies. The friars, who have numerous projects, do not want for work. The Custody’s new Internet site will give Muski a bit more visibility and content, and the latest catalog of the Center’s publications will be online.
The convent compound also includes a kindergarten run by a religious congregation. After the birds of Saint Joseph’s and the dogs of the cemetery, at Muski you find a little cat named Brenda. It is clear that the Egyptian friars, “poor among the poor” as they like to say and as they live, are true sons of Saint Francis.
The friars of Cairo send you their greetings; they would be delighted to meet you any time.
MAB