Father Samuel Faiz Fahim, a disciple of the late Bishop Egidio Samberi, posted on his Facebook page the long-awaited biography of his spiritual father — the man who was the spiritual guide for thousands of children in the churches and schools he founded and served. I was joyful when I saw that post; it brought back memories of Bishop Egidio’s blessed days as priest, pastor, and school principal. He used to wait for us every morning before classes and lead us to the church to pray.

In Father Samuel’s post he wrote the following:

Early life

Egidio Samberi was born in Alexandria on January 22, 1928, to an Italian father and a Cypriot mother. He carried in his blood the culture of that cosmopolitan city and its layered history, where, over the centuries, peoples of different regions, languages, and religions had mixed. From his father he inherited a strong, hardworking, combative character; from his mother he inherited an open, gentle, and compassionate spirit. These traits gave him a lively, joyful approach to life and a deep concern for everyone and everything.

His Franciscan vocation

His Franciscan vocation developed at the Don Bosco Institute in Alexandria, where he received his cultural and Christian formation. Committed to a life of simplicity and poverty, he always showed particular concern for youth, their education, and their future. Following the example of the Salesian Oratory, he was among the first in Egypt to establish centers, parishes, and schools across the region to reach street children and raise them properly.

A Franciscan in Kafr El-Dawar

In 1945 Father Egidio joined the Franciscan seminary in Giza, then under the care of the Tuscan Franciscan province. After completing his philosophical and theological studies, he was ordained a priest on September 7, 1952. He immediately asked his superiors to be assigned to serve the poor in the most marginalized villages and neighborhoods. After an initial pastoral experience in Upper Egypt, he was sent to Kafr El-Dawar in the Nile Delta — not far from his native Alexandria — in 1954 to care for the nascent mission “in service of the Copts,” at the special request of the Holy See.

When he arrived in Kafr El-Dawar he found nothing — not even a place to rest. He first rented a small apartment; later, a Greek Orthodox gentleman named Mr. Prasinas donated a larger, more humane space. There he gathered the first children and opened the “Franciscan Fathers’ School.” Eventually he had to live in a room adjacent to the ice factory next to the school.

Difficult beginnings

The beginnings were hard, as with any mission, but the hardships were balanced by his cheerful, calm character and his Franciscan joy in living poverty among the poor. From the damp room attached to the ice factory he glimpsed a wide plot of land. Father Francis, a great friend and companion in apostolic works for the care of the Holy Places, purchased the land under Franciscan patronage and gave it to him to see what he would accomplish. With the help of friends and his unique trust in God — as in the saying “knock and it will be opened to you” — he began building a school. Beside it he established a nursery for children and built a hall where prayers were said and the faithful gathered, which practically became the local church.

Launching his ministry

Once the school was established, he climbed into his old Fiat 1100 and began his apostolic marathon, knocking on the doors of villages and shantytowns. Father Egidio cared for everyone: he employed widows in the schools, helped orphans continue their education, taught illiterate girls sewing and embroidery, and supported poor brides at the time of marriage. For the sick he founded the first popular clinic in Kafr El-Dawar, relying on specialist doctors and nursing sisters. He also fostered religious vocations: from the minor seminary in Kafr El-Dawar ten Franciscan priests were ordained, and others continue on that path.

From Poggio a Caiano (near Florence) he invited five Franciscan sisters — the Little Sisters of the Sacred Heart — who became his devoted collaborators, inflaming vocations and supporting the work. He also formed and entrusted a group of young people with the task of continuing his apostolic and social work.

Appointment as Bishop of the Latins in Egypt

After twenty-three years of apostolic work, he was asked to take charge of the Apostolic Vicariate of the Latins in Egypt. He was ordained a bishop on June 30, 1978, by Pope John Paul II — news that shocked him personally. When the Vatican ambassador brought the announcement, he was busy feeding chickens in the coops behind the school and asked, “Do they in Rome not know that I’m just a poor farmer who raises chickens and sells eggs to support the orphans?” The ambassador smiled and replied, “They know that well — and more besides. That is why they want you as a bishop!”

He left his small world in Kafr El-Dawar — a place always buzzing day and night with children, youth, workers, widows, and the homeless — and found himself alone in the wide, desolate vicariate house on Sidi Metwally Street, behind large gates that had long been closed, facing a manicured garden where children were denied running and play. After a first sleepless night he resumed his mission: he opened the doors and windows of the worn vicariate residence and imposed his own style, turning it into a home that pulsed with welcome and hospitality for all.

In an era of radical change in Egypt, as the country moved from colonial times into an age of nationalism, Bishop Egidio adapted well to that transformation. He encouraged priests, brothers, and sisters to remain active in their fields of service despite fears following the departure of the once-thriving Latin community. In his frequent visits he stayed close to everyone and invited other religious congregations to settle in Egypt, calling out, “There is work enough for everyone!” The Missionaries of Charity from Calcutta and others arrived, and the Church experienced a revival in both male and female vocations. Together with a group of laypeople, he ran schools that some institutions had had to abandon for lack of staff, and he was always ready to open more. He cooperated with international organizations and charitable associations to address Egypt’s problems, creating small-scale projects for young people (taxis, clothing shops, workshops, reclaimed desert land, rabbit and poultry farms).

He continued on a broad scale to assist the elderly, widows, people with disabilities, families struggling with housing, and university students. He founded reception centers and a school for Sudanese refugees in Egypt and maintained pastoral care for tourists and summer visitors in the Red Sea resorts.

His ecumenical spirit

His family background — his mother belonged to the Greek Orthodox rite — and his experience in Kafr El-Dawar among the Coptic community made him sensitive and open to ecumenism. He often repeated, “We must help the Coptic Orthodox Church to strengthen the Christian presence; standing by it helps it endure.” In that spirit he granted the Coptic Orthodox Church liturgical use of some churches and abandoned sacred sites that belonged to the vicariate.

A servant to all

Father and Bishop Egidio lived in a Egypt where Christians and Muslims coexist side by side to form a unique society. He loved and respected everyone without exception and was loved and cherished by all. He was called a “man of God”: his Muslim friends in Kafr El-Dawar used to say of him, “Only a man of God could do what this man does.”

Bishop Egidio’s loving spirit returned to the Lord on August 27, 2000, after twenty-two years as bishop during which he remained a sign of hope for both the Church and Egypt.