Tawadros II, born Wagih Sobhi Baki Soliman on November 4, 1952, in Mansoura, Egypt, studied pharmacy at the University of Alexandria and worked in a pharmaceutical factory before joining the Monastery of Saint Pishoy to study theology. He was tonsured a monk in 1988 and ordained a priest in 1989. Bishop On June 15, 1997, he was consecrated as a general bishop by Pope Shenouda III and was assigned to serve in the Eparchy of Behira in the Delta region. Tawadros II was selected as the 118th Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church on November 18, 2012, through a traditional selection ceremony where a blindfolded boy chose his name from a chalice. His papacy began amid significant political changes in Egypt. He survived an ISIS bombing in 2017 and has dealt with various issues, including the evolving relationship between the church and its youth post-2011 revolution. Pope Tawadros II has engaged in significant international travel, including meetings with Pope Francis in the Vatican in 2013, and visits to Jerusalem, Jordan, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Australia. His visit to Jerusalem in 2015 was especially notable, as it was the first by a Coptic Pope since 1832, breaking a long-standing boycott over the Arab-Israeli conflict.