About 15,000 people joined Pope Francis for Mass on Saturday in Cairo. (Osservatore Romano via Reuters)

As helicopter gunships circled above, Pope Francis celebrated Mass here on Saturday with thousands of Egyptians, before ending a short visit aimed at bolstering the nation’s beleaguered Christian minority and rebuilding ties with Muslim leaders.

For many of the worshipers who gathered in a soccer stadium for the ceremony, the 80-year-old pontiff’s two-day visit was a devotional crutch at a time of great tumult that many hoped would also help alter their nation’s image as it grapples with terrorism.

“All Christians in Egypt, they needed this long-awaited visit for support, spiritually,” said Ashraf Nagaty, 33, an internal auditor at a private company who was seated in the stands along with his mother. “It came at the right time, a critical time for Egypt and Christians here and across the Middle East.”

[Pope Francis denounces religious extremism, calls for tolerance during Egypt visit]

The ceremony came a day after Francis, the second pope to visit the Arab world’s most populous nation, urged Muslim leaders to unite against religious extremism and make concerted efforts in the education of young people to promote tolerance and prevent militancy. His two-day visit comes less than three weeks after Islamic State suicide bombers shattered two churches in the cities of Tanta and Alexandria, killing more than 40 people.

(Reuters)

The crowd of about 15,000 people, while much smaller than what the pontiff usually commands, was boisterous. Some tooted horns and beat drums while others released yellow, white and blue balloons, including one in the shape of a cross.

Most of the worshipers wore white hats emblazoned with the phrase: “Pope of Peace in Egypt of Peace.”

Security was heavy. Police officers and plainclothes security agents lined the roads leading to Air Defense Stadium, where the Mass was held. Some agents kept watch from rooftops and walls. Heavily armed soldiers and black-clad special forces units patrolled and sealed off streets.

Despite the security concerns, Francis rode around the stadium in a golf cart, as the crowds waved Egyptian and Vatican flags and a choir and orchestra performed joyous hymns. Children wearing Pharaonic headdresses welcomed the pontiff as he stepped toward the podium.

“It’s beyond any words I can express,” said teacher Angela Ornagy, 58, as she sat in the stands waiting for the pontiff to arrive. “I am just so thrilled to see him.”

A few rows away, Michael Gamal wore a white cap and carried an Egyptian flag. “He’s an icon and symbol for us,” the 27-year-old engineer said. “We have to come to pray and take his blessings.”

[Pope Francis visits Egypt at a time of great fear among Christians]

Echoing the words of many other Egyptians interviewed, he said he hoped the pontiff’s visit would encourage more tourists to visit Egypt and “show the true nature of Egypt to the rest of the world.” Over the past two years, the country’s image and economy have been battered by a series of violent incidents, including the 2015 bombing of a Russian passenger plane that killed all 224 aboard shorty after it left the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh.

The Islamic State’s affiliate in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula claimed responsibility for the assault, and tourism — a key source of the country’s foreign exchange — has struggled to revive.

“The economic situation is difficult and the political situation is difficult, consequently,” Nagaty said. “We need international acknowledgment that Egypt is safe, support by someone very remarkable like Pope Francis.”

Egypt’s Christians are largely Coptic Orthodox, and they make up roughly 10 percent of Egypt’s 95 million people. Less than 1 percent of the community are Catholics.

At the end of the Mass, Francis blessed Egypt and repeated his call for tolerance.

The pontiff then had lunch with Egyptian bishops and scholars and took part in prayers at a Catholic seminary in the upscale neighborhood of Maadi.

He flew back to Italy in the late afternoon.

Heba Mahfouz contributed to this report.

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