Fr Lombardi briefing on Pope Francis’ visit to Armenia
(Vatican Radio) The Director
of the Holy See’s Press Office, Father Federico Lombardi, on Tuesday briefed
journalists on Pope Francis’ 3-day visit to Armenia taking place from 24-26th
of June. He said the papal visit underlines the Pope’s desire to show his
closeness to the entire nation of Armenia, whose people who have suffered so
much during their long history and who shares their desire for peace.
Father Lombardi noted that
the Pope’s visit to Armenia should be considered as the first part of a trip
that will take him to three nations in the Caucus region in 2016. The second
leg will take place from September 30th to October 2nd when the Pope will
travel to Azerbaijan and Georgia.
Armenia has a population of
3.3 million but the diaspora is far larger with up to 10 million people of
Armenian descent living outside the country, mainly in Russia and the United
States. Just over 9 percent of Armenia’s population is Catholic.
Ecumenism is a key focus of
the Pope’s journey to Armenia that follows a visit to the Vatican in April 2015
by Catholicos, Karekin II, the Patriarch of All Armenia, during which a Mass
was celebrated in St Peter’s Basilica to commemorate the centenary of the mass
killings of Armenians by Ottoman troops in 1915.
During his trip to Armenia,
the Pope will meet descendants of those killed during that massacre when he
travels to a memorial complex in the city of Tsitzernakaberd situated in the
south of the nation. The complex commemorates what is known by Armenians as the
Medz Yeghern (Great Evil) when up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed between
1915 and 1923 by troops of the Ottoman Empire.
Father Lombardi also revealed
that among the journalists travelling to Armenia for the papal visit is
Evangelina Himitian, the daughter of an Armenian evangelical pastor in
Argentina and a friend of the then Cardinal Bergoglio during his time as
Archbishop of Buenos Aires. The journalist’s grandparents were witnesses and
victims of the Ottoman persecution of Armenians and their lives were saved through
the help of some Turkish peasants who offered them protection.
Other highlights of the
Pope’s programme during his visit to Armenia include the Pope’s meeting with
the civil and religious authorities including the Catholicos and other
representatives of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The Pope will also visit,
Gyumri, Armenia’s second largest city, where he will hold an open-air Mass
before returning to the capital to attend an ecumenical meeting and prayer for
peace.
On his final day, the Pope
will visit the Khor Virap monastery near the Turkish border where he will
release doves in the direction of Mount Arafat. The monastery is revered as the
site where St. Gregory the Illuminator, the founder of Christianity in Armenia,
was imprisoned.
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