Despite a major disruption of traffic in Cairo after the Pope's arrival on Thursday, there was little fanfare as he was driven through the Egyptian capital, except in a few isolated areas. The flags and banners that are usually erected on the city's bridges when heads of state visit were absent and when asked about the Pontiff, most people on the street looked blank.
Given the size of the Catholic community in Egypt, perhaps this is not surprising. It is thought to number about 250,000, a tiny minority in a country of 65 million. The bulk of these are Coptic Catholics, originally Coptic Orthodox who converted with the arrival of Catholic missions in the colonial period. They follow many of their traditional orthodox rites but have their own Patriarch, Stephanos II Ghattas, and although they are independent of Rome they see the Pope as their spiritual leader.
There are six other Catholic orders with a presence here, five from other Middle Eastern countries: Maronites, Greeks, Armenians, Chaldeans and Syrians. Latin Catholics, as they are known here, number less than 5,000 and are mostly foreigners.
Despite its small size, the Catholic Church has had a surprisingly large influence in Egypt. Catholic missions first arrived here in the 18th century, officially under orders from Rome to "assist" the Coptic church.
In reality, however, the aim was to try to assert the primacy of the Latin church by converting large numbers of orthodox Copts - something which may explain the hostility shown to the Pope's visit by some orthodox Egyptians.
But while they were not successful in mass conversions, the Catholic missions established schools throughout the country and these were extremely important in the country's nascent education system. Although they account for only a tiny proportion of the number of schools in Egypt today, places in Jesuit and Franciscan-run schools are still sought after by upper middle class Muslim and Christian parents, and they turn out a large proportion of the country's decision-makers.
In Upper Egypt, where Islamist extremism has been strongest, Catholic missions also have a strong tradition of good works. Even today, when peasants here need medicine or simple health care, they go to the "katoleeks", the mostly foreign nuns and monks who run a network of charitable dispensaries and infirmaries that are a real help to the rural poor, Muslim or Christian.