Curated by Wael Farouq
Under the Patronage of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center of Cairo and the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan

The flight into Egypt of the little Jesus and his parents, Mary and Joseph, is narrated by Matthew in his Gospel. It was a flight from persecution and its conflicts. King Herod unleashed his anger against newborns and ordered the massacre of the innocents. When an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, he got up in the night, took the child and his mother, and fled to Egypt, where they stayed until Herod’s death to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” The traditions handed down over the centuries and the devotion linked to the places where monasteries and sanctuaries were established—mostly built by Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine—are the sources on which the stages of the pilgrimage are based. The Coptic Christians of Egypt have cultivated a special devotion to this presence of Jesus in their land. Their Patriarch Theophilus of Alexandria, who lived in the fourth century, is attributed a vision from the Virgin Mary describing the path followed in Egypt by the Holy Family. This vision identified about 25 places where churches, convents, and monuments are located. The routes follow the ancient caravan itineraries connecting Mediterranean countries.

Millions of pilgrims of different faiths and cultures visit the sites of the Flight each year, an event that continues to touch the hearts of men. A popular interreligious tradition has been born that lasts about 2,000 years.

The exhibition, through an immersive journey, develops along the path of the Holy Family’s journey using the docufilm made by the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center of Cairo as a guiding thread, alongside current photos of the sites that have become true sacred places not only for Christians.