Meet Egypt’s Father Bichoi Ragheb Hanna

Back >>

by Liam Stack

“I felt I had a special vocation to serve orphans,” said Father Bichoi Raghed Hanna, as he walked down the bright halls of the Good Samaritan home for orphans in Cairo, Egypt.

The Egyptian-born Coptic priest established the orphanage in 2002 and has since overseen its operations and growth with loving care. “I thank God that the superiors gave me the chance to found this place,” said the priest, who had ministered to a busy Coptic parish in Los Angeles for 10 years before returning to Egypt.

The facility nestles on a peaceful, tidy oasis across from an unlikely grassy park in the heart of the Massaken Sheraton neighborhood. One of the city’s newest neighborhood, it is bordered by Cairo’s seething downtown on one side and an empty desert on the other.

The Good Samaritan home is tucked inside the facility’s main building, most of which is used as a school. A large courtyard offers the children there plenty of room to play.

Since Father Hanna opened the orphanage seven years ago, the number of residents has grown tenfold, from four to more than 40. All the children have lost one or both parents. Many lived on the streets before coming to Good Samaritan, where, according Father Hanna, they often learned “the wrong kind of behavior.”

“I try hard to teach them and to let them know that God loves them,” he said. “Really, they lost one of their parents, or both of them, but there is God and he is the father of us all.”

As director, Father Hanna’s top priority is to provide residents with a stable and loving environment. He prefers to call Good Samaritan a “home” rather than an “orphanage.” “We would like them live as a family together and love each other as brothers and sisters,” he explained.

Following in the footsteps of his parish priest whom he greatly admired, Father Hanna responded to his priestly calling at a young age. At 10, he entered minor seminary in his hometown, Minya, in Upper Egypt. He later attended major seminary in Cairo. Upon ordination, he was assigned to the Minya parish, where he served as pastor for five years. He subsequently moved to Rome to pursue a doctorate in psychology.

Father Hanna traces his initial interest in working with orphans to his psychology studies as well as the experience of having a childhood friend who was orphaned. However, he says a deep desire to help others in serious need is what inspired him to establish the Good Samaritan home.

“I like to give back, this my vocation,” said the priest. “I use all that God has given me for others. When I was in America I felt that I did not want to continue as a church pastor but go for special cases that need more help and more care. I thought about orphans because they really need love and care in a special way.”

Back >>