Pope Shenouda III flew to the US Saturday morning on a private aircraft owned by Coptic businessman Naguib Sawiris to undergo medical examinations.
A church source told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the Pope’s three secretaries–Fathers Boutros, Youannis, Armia–and his physician Maher Assad are accompanying him on the trip.
The Coptic Pope will be admitted to Cleveland Hospital in Ohio for routine medical checkups.
Two weeks ago, the Pope announced in a sermon that he would travel to the US for treatment and rejected an offer of a kidney donation from one of the attendees, saying he is too old for such an operation.
The same source added that the Pope will return after one week to continue following up on the Alexandria church blast which left 23 people dead and more than 90 injured.
The Pope suffers kidney and back problems, and travels regularly to the US for medical examinations and treatment.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
