April 10, 2017
The Catholic University of America joins the Holy Father, Pope Francis, and the bishops of the United States in mourning the deaths of all who died yesterday in the terror attack on two churches in Egypt. The attacks, which took place during the Holy Week celebration commemorating Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, killed more than 40 people, many of them children.
One of the prayers of the Coptic Church for the dead reads:
Graciously, O Lord, repose all their souls in the bosom of our holy fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Sustain them in a green pasture, by the water of rest, in the paradise of joy; the place out of which grief, sorrow and groaning have fled away, in the light of Your saints.
Raise up their bodies, also, on the day which You have appointed, according to Your true promises, which are without lie. Grant them the good things of Your promises; that which an eye has not seen nor an ear heard, neither have come upon the heart of man; the things which You, O God, have prepared for them that love Your Holy Name.
Our condolences and prayers are with all the faithful of the Coptic Orthodox Church and with all persons seeking refuge from persecution in the Middle East.
