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Pope Shenuda III
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Egypt's Coptic pope operated on in US to mend broken leg

1 day ago

CLEVELAND, Ohio (AFP) — The head of Egypt's Coptic Church, Pope Shenuda III, has been successfully operated on in the United States after he fell and broke his left leg, his doctors said.

The 84-year-old patriarch slipped on a carpet at his home late Monday and after lying on the floor all night because he could not reach the phone, he was flown to Cleveland, Ohio, in the jet of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

The pope was operated on for one hour Thursday at the Cleveland Clinic to repair his broken left femur, surgeon Wael Barsoum said in a statement.

"The surgery was successful and he is recovering well. He will remain in the hospital for approximately one week and then receive physical rehabilitation," Barsoum added in his statement on Thursday.

Shenuda is the 117th successor of Saint Mark, who according to tradition founded the Coptic Church in the first century AD. He has headed the church since 1971.

Copts are estimated to make up six to 10 percent of Egypt's 76 million people and are the largest Christian community in the Middle East.
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