Cairo: Egyptian and world leaders on Sunday mourned the death of Pope Shenouda III, as a man of tolerance and wisdom who helped Egypt keep united.
Shenouda, the patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church, died on Saturday at the age of 88.
"His death is a tragedy and a great loss for Egypt and its people, Muslims and Christians," Ali Jumaa, Egypt's mufti, said in a statement.
Egypt's military rulers, meanwhile, described Shenouda as a "dedicated national symbol and a statesman of a rare calibre".
Hussain Tantawi, the country's de facto ruler, ordered that Christians who work at state institutions, be given a three-day holiday to mourn the pope, according to state television. Christians make up around 10 per cent of Egypt's 80 million population.
Thousands of grief-stricken Christians started to arrive at a key cathedral in Cairo to pay their last respects to Shenouda, who will be buried on Tuesday in the Monastery of Saint Pishoy in northern Egypt, said church officials.
They added that the burial site was chosen according to a wish by Shenouda who spent his life as a hermit inside the monastery.
Egyptian television showed on Sunday footage of tearful people thronging the cathedral, where Shenouda used to give a weekly sermon.
Shenouda's death occurred as Egypt is gearing up for holding its first presidential election since a popular revolt forced long-standing president Hosni Mubarak to step down.
The potential contenders joined in praising the late pontiff as acting as a "staunch bastion of national unity."
Amr Mussa, a prominent presidential aspirant, said he was saddened by Shenouda's departure. "We have lost a great value and a pre-eminent pope," said Ahmed Shafiq, another presidential contender, and a Mubarak-era prime minister.
In a letter of condolences to Tantawi, UAE President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan lauded the late pope as a symbol of religious tolerance and co-existence. "He was also keen to preserve the unity of the brotherly Egyptian people," Shaikh Khalifa said.
Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama said that Shenouda will be remembered as a "man of deep faith and an advocate for unity and reconciliation".
"His commitment to Egypt's national unity is also a testament to what can be accomplished when people of all religions and creeds work together," Obama added in a White House statement.
Egyptian state TV and several privately owned stations have changed their regular programmes and broadcast special tributes to Shenouda made by Christian and Muslim figures.
Meanwhile, Egypt's state-run and private newspapers on Sunday hit the newsstands with their front pages carrying large pictures of the deceased pope. "Pope Shenouda, farewell," read a black heading in the semi-official paper Al Ahram. "Egypt cries for the Pope," according to Al Tahrir, a private newspaper.
