Our Clergy

Fr. Raphael was born Amir Riwes in Maadi, Egypt.  At the age of 6 his family moved to Milan, Italy, as his father the Late Fr. Mina Riwes was called to serve the Coptic community in Italy.  When Amir turned 13, Pope Shenouda III sent  Fr. Mina and his family to serve the Coptic community in Rochester, NY.  Amir earned his B.Sc.. in Management Information Systems from Rochester Institute of Technology (2003).  He also earned a Master of Business Administration from Arizona State University (2007) and a Master in Systems and Industrial Engineering  from University of Michigan (2017). He was nominated to the priesthood while attending and serving at Holy Cross.  He was ordained priest by the name of Raphael at the hands of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II on February 16th 2016 at St. Bishoy's Monestary in Scetis (Western Desert).    Fr. Raphael lives with his wife Mary and two sons Toby and Nate in Ann Arbor, MI

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