I was in Alexandria at the time of the terrorist bombings that targeted the Church of St. George in Tanta and St. Mark Cathedral in Alexandria on Palm Sunday. I was with my wife on our way to the Cathedral of St. Mark to deliver a letter to His Holiness Pope Tawadros in order to hold an interview with him for Fountain of Love magazine on the occasion of his visit to Australia in August.
We were only a few meters away from the terrorists when we heard the sound of a loud explosion accompanied by the sound of broken glass and people screaming. The place was full of chaos as police were evacuating the area.
On the next day, we decided to attend the evening prayer in the same cathedral where the terrorist explosion took place. We arrived around 4:00 pm, and had to wait for about an hour before the security forces allowed us into the cathedral. Few minutes later, the church was full of people who came to pray that their voices were louder than the explosion.
Everybody felt that souls of the martyrs were accompanying them. I remembered the Martyr Nassim Fahim, the guard of the church who prevented the terrorist from entering the church except through the electronic gates. This guard has prevented a greater catastrophe if the terrorist could enter to the church where the Pope was heading the holy mass.
The martyr Nassim has not done a supernatural work, but he was sincere in doing his job. This man became a role model that we will always remember.
