An American Catholic priest ministering in Egypt has said Christians there fear for their safety and talk about wanting to leave their homeland in the wake of the Palm Sunday terrorist attacks north of Cairo that killed dozens of people.

Ahead of Pope Francis' visit to Egypt, Father Doug May told Vatican Radio that residents in several predominantly Christian villages that he visited this month are anxious about their future.

'Tired of feeling vulnerable'

Fr May, a priest of the Maryknoll mission movement, said: “It’s the first time that even the successful [Christian villagers] who have fairly nice houses and a decent lifestyle have told me, "If I could leave, I would leave because I am tired of feeling vulnerable in a country that I should call my own because I am being tolerated at best but I am not being accepted as an equal citizen.”

Fr May said he hoped Pope Francis’ visit to Cairo would promote solidarity between leaders and people of the different Christian denominations and the majority Muslim community.