Daniel and Catherine were born in Khartoum, Sudan, a country torn apart by civil war. Fortunately today they live safely in Egypt. They partly owe their safety to the intervention of the Egyptian Church, which took care of them. They are currently in Rome for the Jubilee of Young People, and on Saturday and Sunday they will be among the 200 other young people chosen to accompany the Pope in the opening celebration at Tor Vergata.
“Peace and unity for my people: this is the prayer intention I will offer during the offertory with Pope Leo,” says Daniel Lino, 29, who fled from Juba to Cairo.
To his great surprise, he was selected from among two hundred others as gift bearer in the offertory during the solemn Mass celebrated by Leo XIV. We met him in Rome with a group of fifteen young people from Egypt during a break: the street leading to St.Peter’s Square is flooded with radiant young people and flags of all colours representing world countries.
“It’s a privilege for me to be in Rome!” Daniel says. “It means the world to me. I would have never imagined that I would make it here. Two years ago, I was asked if I wanted to participate in the Jubilee, but it seemed like an impossible dream. The bishop helped me every step of the way, including with my visa. I take it as a sign from God.”
Daniel was born in Sudan and was forced to flee to neighboring South Sudan in 2010. Just four years later, a civl war erupted there too between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and those aligned with his former deputy, Riek Machar. The chaotic conditions and bombings caused him to seek refuge in Egypt. By the time Pope Francis visited South Sudan in 2023, Daniel had long since left the country. After moving to Cairo in 2014, he enrolled in university and began working with the parish. Most importantly, he embarked on a vocational journey.
“In September I will embark on the Franciscan journey: I am deeply attracted to its spirituality.” He hopes he will have the opportunity to convey to Pope Leo the dreams and desires of the young people of his country: an end to divisiveness causing so much death.
Catherine Shashati, 38, is accompanying the Egyptian group of youths during this Jubilee. She too was forced to flee Khartoum for Cairo in 2023 due to the ongoing war.
Her husband, Tony, is a member of the Neocatechumenal Way. She is grateful to God for giving her a new life away from the war. “While violence isn’t as prevalent in Sudan nowadays, it’s still not a safe place to live. I consider myself fortunate to have escaped the horrors there thanks to my husband, who is Egyptian, and the Latin Church, which welcomed me with open arms. It was not at all easy for us to make it to Rome.”
The group is staying with the Comboni Fathers in Rome and includes Maria Aziz, a 25-year-old member of the Catholic Church of St. Joseph in Cairo and a volunteer with prison inmates. “I pray for people’s freedom. May everyone be free, in Egypt and anywhere in the world!” she says.
“There are no coincidences, only callings,” she assures. Understanding what God wants from us is essential; that is the key. Discernment. To me, it means being with my peers, which allows me to give and receive simultaneously. I’m still trying to understand what God is asking of me. It’s a lifelong journey. Every time I experience something like this, I discover new things about myself. There’s no end to this process. Mirna, Tony, and Miral are in the same group. They agree that participating in this Jubilee is “both a privilege and a responsibility as we are here representing everyone else.” They are aware that boarding a plane to Italy from Africa is a rare occurrence; typically, tourists from African countries don’t make such journeys. “Every young person here has prayed and spoken in their native language,” Miral notes. “This is an incredible gift, and it is amazing to be all together. There is tremendous energy! We befriended so many wonderful people.”
