Pope Francis is to meet the grand imam of Cairo’s al-Azhar at the Vatican on Monday in an unprecedented encounter between the leader of the world’s Catholics and the highest authority in Sunni Islam. Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, who heads the mosque and seat of learning considered the most prestigious institution in the main branch of Islam,

will have an audience with the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told AFP. “This audience is being prepared and has been scheduled for Monday,” he said. “It will be a first.” READ MORE


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