On Monday 24th February, the Community of Sant'Egidio in Antwerp welcomed Mar Awa III, Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East.
Received at the Community's headquarters in Kammenstraat, the Patriarch visited the Kamiano soup kitchen, the art workshop and the family home for the elderly. He also had the opportunity to meet some Syrian and Afghan refugees who had recently arrived in Belgium through humanitarian corridors.
Mar Awa III has a long-standing friendship with Sant'Egidio and regularly participates in the International Meetings for Peace in the spirit of Assisi. Last November, during a visit to the Community of Sant'Egidio in Rome, he donated fragments of a stone cross from a church in Mosul, Iraq, destroyed by ISIS in 2014.
The Patriarch also had the opportunity to reflect with the members of the Community in Antwerp on topics such as the importance of prayer, solidarity with the poor and refugees, and the commitment to peace.
