As I approached the residence of the Roman Catholic bishop of Egypt on the outskirts of Cairo in Heliopolis, white smoke appeared to rise from the garden to the haze of the city.
However, the sound of stone masonry tools emanating from behind the gate quickly revealed that it was dust to cut pavement stones for the renovation of the vast and well-maintained gardens of the residence.
Later on Wednesday, the infamous black smoke rose from the chimney as the eyes of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholic eyes and many other Catholics were clinging to St. Peter’s Square. No candidates secured the required two-thirds majority. Until round 2.
Back in Cairo, Monsignor Claudiolulati, the apostle deputy bishop of Alexandria, who serves as the main jurisdiction of Roman Catholics in Egypt, appears to enjoy the process from afar. “It’s completely unpredictable,” he smiles.
Regions that encompass the Middle East and North Africa only have around 1% of the world’s Catholics, but maintain a spiritual and politically integral role for the church, particularly when it comes to inclusion in sacred sites. And, like many other non-Catholic communities, there are seven different denominations of Catholicism.
Speaking to Euroneus, who was in the shade of his residence away from the heat of Curry, Monsignor Lelati assumed that this conclave would take several days.
“We haven’t seen a really clear party, so this may lengthen the process. People may be free to follow their conscience, and I believe that the Holy Spirit will inspire them to do,” he told Euronows.
“They also need some basic time to get to know each other,” he adds. This was the first time many of the 133 cardinals from 70 countries in Conclave had met in person, of which 108 were appointed by the late Pope Francis.
This has once become a strange scene in a bewildered cardinal plagued by microphones and cameras in the world media around Rome and within the Vatican city.
“Very Warm”: Reminiscent of Francis from the Middle East
Fanfare about the election of the new Pope does not overturn the memory of Pope’s revolutionary pope, particularly in the Middle East.
“I think Pope Francis’ Pope will be lovingly remembered in Islamic and Christian relations for the practice of inter-religious dialogue,” explains Father Michael O’Sullivan.
Father Michael has worked throughout the region for decades, including the president of Notre Dame Africa, a stately cathedral heading from the Algerian capital to the Mediterranean, as director of the Maison Abraham Interface Centre in Jerusalem.
More recently, he coordinated the late Pope’s historic visit to the UAE and helped organize the masses, which attracted 180,000 worshipers.
Francis has co-signed the historic Abu Dhabi Declaration on interfaith cooperation with Sheikh Ahmed El Teyeb, the Grand Imam of Al Hazar in Cairo.
In an interview with Euroneus at his Irish home, Father Michael reiterated that “the relationship between the (region) and his holy father is very warm.”
However, he admitted that this was “not without some controversy.”
More conservatives among the clergy have questioned some elements of the Abu Dhabi agreement, Father Michael said. “This Pope Declaration has a roughly Quran quotation. I don’t think the conservatives of the Catholic Church were satisfied.”
Looking east, looking west
For Catholics in the area, the opportunity to elect a new pope seems to be the path to Damascus for the church.
There is Merkite St. Cyril Church, a few hundred metres below Beirut Street, away from Roman Catholic residences. The church, originally built when it was built in 1910, is now located behind a high wall.
The two boring police officers casually toyed with machine guns outside, nodding to the series of church bombings over the past decade that still reside in the Egyptian Christian spirit.
Inside, Father Raffic Abona, a priest of the church for over 30 years, and a former spokesman for the Egyptian Vatican. The room was dark and only lit up with a bit of sunlight.
“It’s Conclave Day and they turn off the electricity,” he laughs.
After a brief but animated discussion of the correct use of church titles, Father Raffick immediately tries to state that he would be maintained from Pope Francis’s Pope and that he would not want.
He praises the late Pope’s dedication to protecting refugees. Refugees oversee the rise of radical Islamic politics and terrorism in the area, forcing a wave of refugees, including hundreds of thousands of Christians, and often fleeing homes heading west.
In Egypt, the regnum between former President Hosni Mubarak and incumbent Abdel Fatta El-Sisi was in the eyes of Father Rafiq and Monsignor Lulati, due to the instability and danger caused by the short rules of Muslim brotherhood.
“At least 100,000 Christians who I know I have fled,” Rafic added that they are “returned” to what they now consider to be a more stable country, and that they have come primarily from the “elites.”
Merkite’s priest lamented the increasingly hostile Western countries’ policies towards immigration, singled out the US Vice President and Catholic Vice President, and is a fierce and outspoken critic of the US administration of JD Vance’s recent visit.
“I don’t think JD is a great representative of Christianity,” he told Euroneus, adding that the Pope thought he was very unimpressed by the visit. The Pope passed away a day later.
However, the senior US politician was not the only senior politician in his vision. “Biden is just as bad,” he cried. “Catholics who can accept abortion are not real Catholics,” he cried.
This points to a broader point of attachment for Father Raffic and many other Christians in the region. Some faithful believe that Christians in the Middle East and North Africa tend to be more conservative, especially during Pope Francis’ rule, compared to what the Church praises as present values.
Others, on the other hand, would prefer a more progressive pope.
Father Raffic fights back against the church’s “political” explanation. “I don’t use the term liberal or conservative. It’s a matter of moral discipline.”
However, he proposes that “two units influenced Pope Francis,” suggesting that it puts pressure on the more integrated social policy on issues of gender and sexual identity: the increasingly liberal German Catholic Church and the former Anglican archbishop of Canterbury Justin Wellby.
“They were very good friends, he was always in Rome,” Raffick said of the latter. “Insiders know he is important in Pope Francis’ decision to celebrate same-sex couples.”
The Pope Order led to unprecedented battles of papal authority from parishes around the world, particularly in the Middle East.
Monsignor Lulati disagrees. “I think he played a big role in moving forward and speeding up the already-initiated process. It really makes the church universal and international.”
“It was already happening, but he definitely made the process go wild.”
But with a focus on the incoming pope, Father Raffick was convinced that “all of these social issues will disappear.”
“Boiling Point”: Areas of War
The incoming bishop has many problems with his plates around the world, but the conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa may rule his duties.
The Lebanese conflict, home to the highest percentage of Christians in the region, keeps Israel in continuing its attack as Hezbollah militias refuse to abandon their arms.
Father Michael hoped that Hezbollah and Iran’s “cut wings” might help bring stability, but he thought that parts of the area were still at the “boiling point.”
Violence has been tormenting various communities in neighbouring Syria over the past few months. Christians have spared up until now, but Father Raffic, whose Merkite denomination is rooted in Lebanon and Syria, says many have already fled, including his church.
“We look after them, they take care of us,” he smiles.
Then there is South Sudan, the youngest country in the world. Its relatively short history is “marked by poverty and conflict,” newly appointed Bishop Christian Carrasare explained to Euroneuz from the parish of the city of Bentiu.
“Because of the wealth of resources, it’s not actually a poor country. But people live poorly due to so much instability and violence. Corruption is also ramping.”
Some observers consider these conflicts to be the edge of the Conclave to the Latin Patriarch Piabattista Cardinal Pizzabara, Jerusalem’s Latin Patriarch.
Pizzaballa attracted global attention by switching locations with children hostages in Gaza following the attacks on October 7th, Hamas, and holding the 700 Christian mass remaining on the strip in December 2024.
Those who Euronows spoke to in the area were less certain, quoting his younger age (bright 60) one by one.
But it’s not personal, they say. For them, it was less about background or character than the value the new Pope represents.
“We experience so many injustice and violence that we need church leaders who show the value of God and the gospel as the only way to reconciliation and peace,” concluded Bishop Karlasare.
Walking back to the fierce Egyptian sun from his invalid abode, Father Raffic refuses to speculate who could become the new Pope.
“There is always a surprise to the Lord and the Holy Spirit,” he smiled, his eyebrows raised slightly.
