Catholicos Garegin II Meets Pope Leo XIV in Vatican

On September 16, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, accompanied by a delegation and Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Holy See's Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, traveled from the Vatican to the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo, where he had a meeting with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV.

After a fraternal embrace, the Pontiffs of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church and the Roman Catholic Church had a private conversation.

The Catholicos of All Armenians offered his heartfelt congratulations to the incumbent of the See of Saint Peter on his election, as well as on the significant occasion of his 70th birthday, praying that the Heavenly Lord grant him strength and ability and make His Holiness's pontificate fruitful with abundant results for the glory of God and for the peaceful and prosperous life of humanity.

The Supreme Patriarch noted with satisfaction that the fraternal ties between the two Churches have been strengthened through grace-filled meetings and joint testimonies of faith, recalling the visit of the blessed memory Saint Pope John Paul II to Armenia in 2001, and then the fortunate occasion of hosting the blessed memory Pope Francis at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin in 2016 in connection with the pilgrimage under the theme "Visit to the First Christian Nation."

Among the memorable milestones in the relations between the Armenian Church and the Roman Catholic Church, His Holiness noted the Divine Liturgy celebrated in St. Peter's Basilica in 2015 on the occasion of the centenary of the Armenian Genocide and the proclamation of St. Gregory of Narek, one of the greatest saints of the Armenian Church, as a Doctor of the Universal Church.

The Catholicos of All Armenians expressed confidence that the relations between the two Churches will continue to develop in the same fraternal spirit and warmth, resulting in new good joint implementations.

During the conversation, the two Pontiffs addressed the disasters and worrying developments taking place in the world, the challenges facing Armenia and the Armenian people, and the trials they are enduring.

The issues of the Artsakh Armenians displaced from their ancestral homeland, the preservation of the Armenian spiritual and cultural heritage facing the threat of destruction in Artsakh, and the imperative of releasing prisoners of war and hostages were also brought to the attention of His Holiness the Pope of Rome.

The Pontiffs emphasized the mission of the Churches in establishing justice and peace in the world and ensuring the harmonious coexistence of peoples, remaining faithful to the Lord's calling to abound in faith, hope, and love in people's hearts.

The need to unite the efforts of the Churches for the sake of spreading the light of the Gospel, protecting human rights, and building a prosperous and secure world was stressed.

At the end, His Holiness extended an invitation to Pope Leo XIV to visit Armenia.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the members of the delegation of the Catholicos of All Armenians received the blessing of His Holiness the Pope of Rome. There was an exchange of gifts.

Within the framework of the visit to the Vatican, the Catholicos of All Armenians also visited the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome, where he offered a prayer to God for the repose of the soul of the deceased Pontiff, the blessed memory Pope Francis, before his tomb.