Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak (, ; born 19 August 1955) is the current Coptic Catholic Patriarch of Alexandria.

Biography

Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak was born on 19 August 1955 in Beni-Chokeir, Asyut Governorate. He studied philosophy and theology at St. Leo's Patriarchal Seminary in Maadi (a suburb of

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

) and was ordained a priest in 1980. For the following two years he served in the Parish of Archangel Michael in Cairo. He was sent to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

to study at the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

and received his doctorate in dogmatic theology. Between 1990 and 2001, he was the rector of the Patriarchal Seminary. For a short period in 2002 he served as the parish priest of the patriarchal

Cathedral of Our Lady of Egypt The Cathedral of Our Lady of Egypt, also called the Coptic Catholic Cathedral of Cairo, is a Coptic Catholic church building at 39 Mustafa Fahmi Street in Cairo, Egypt. The cathedral serves as the main church of the Catholic Coptic Patriarchate ...

in Cairo. In October 2002, he was elected Bishop of Minya, a post in which he served until his canonical election as patriarch. Sidrak was elected as Coptic Catholic Patriarch of Alexandria on 15 January 2013, succeeding Antonios I Naguib, who had resigned because of poor health. (He had a stroke, suffered partial paralysis and underwent brain surgery.) Sidrak asked for and received ecclesiastical communion from

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

three days later, on 18 January 2013. Sidrak often worked closely with

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

and the Coptic Orthodox Pope,

Tawadros II Pope Tawadros II (born 4 November 1952 ) is the 118th and current Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, succeeding the late Pope Shenouda III as leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. He took office on 18 Nove ...

, with the goal and aim of unifying the

Coptic Orthodox The Coptic Orthodox Church (), also known as the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, is an Oriental Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox Christian church based in Egypt. The head of the church and the Apostolic see, See of Alexandria i ...

and

Coptic Catholic The Coptic Catholic Church (), also known as the Coptic Catholic Church of Alexandria, is an Eastern Catholic particular church in full communion with the Catholic Church. Along with the Ethiopian Catholic Church and Eritrean Catholic Church, ...

churches of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

References

Sources

Rinuncia del Patriarca di Alessandria dei Copti (Egitto) ed Elezione del Nuovo Patriarca

Holy See Press Office The Holy See Press Office (; ) is the press office of the Holy See. It publishes the official news of the activities of the Pope and of the various departments of the Roman Curia. All speeches, messages and documents, as well as the statements ...

External links

Patriarch Ibrahim Isaac Sedrak (Sidrak)
20th-century Eastern Catholic clergy 21st-century Eastern Catholic bishops Living people 1955 births Coptic Catholic Patriarchs of Alexandria Pontifical Gregorian University alumni People from Asyut Governorate Members of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches {{Egypt-reli-bio-stub