In Maadi, a suburb of Cairo, 28 young men are currently training for the priesthood at Egypt‘s one and only Coptic Catholic seminary. They come from different parts of the country. Abba Romany Fawzy, the rector of the seminary explains: „The mission of the seminary is to keep alive the flame of faith in the Church through the formation of generations of good priests. Our aim is to make sure that these priests are men of piety and prayer and that they are fully formed and rounded in character and personality.“
Most of these young men have grown up in devout Christian families. Antown George (32) has spoken to us about his vocation, in which regular attendance at Sunday Mass was an important part of his family life. Both he and his brother were altar servers and sang in the church choir. Over the course of time his search for God became ever more serious and more profound. Nonetheless, he started off by studying mathematics. He recalls: „All those years my family sensed my longing for the Lord and encouraged me to follow the One in whom I believed. They were in no way against me and even felt privileged that their son wanted to be a priest.“ But initially, it seemed a very distant goal to this young man. He himself could scarcely imagine one day becoming a priest. Yet his mother was profoundly convinced that he would be a priest.
Reflecting on his vocation, he recalls, „Initially, it is the Lord who calls us, and we hear his call. I have always asked myself, what is the point of life? Is it so banal that we simply die and then nothing more happens? These were the questions that troubled me as I sought to find a reason for my conviction as a Christian. And the answer was always the same: „I am the Way, the Truth and the Life“ (Jn 14:6). This answer was always enough for me. And so through my vocation to the priesthood I have become a sign of God‘s love and purpose. Young people are forever asking about the meaning of things. I want to give them hope that the world is still full of meaning and that the Fount of all meaning is Christ himself. And so, just as it was with me, so may it also be for others.“
During term time the seminary where Antown George and the other 27 young seminarians are studying for the priesthood is the place where they live, learn, pray and share life in community. During the summer holidays, however, it is used for a variety of different events, generally lasting between three and five days, with accommodation for the participants in the seminary building. But the building has never been renovated since 1990, and that is a long time. We have therefore promised them 30,000 Euros for the most essential renovation work.
