Pope Leo XIV renewed his greetings to His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church—See of Cilicia, during the Wednesday General Audience. This took place just two days after their meeting and joint prayer on Monday, May 18, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace.
At the outset of the General Audience, Pope Leo expressed his joy in welcoming Catholicos Aram I and his delegation, describing the visit as “an important occasion to strengthen the bonds of unity that already exist between us, as we draw closer to full communion between our Churches.” The Pope prayed that the Holy Spirit may bless the pilgrimage of the Armenian Catholicos to the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul.
Pope Leo urged those present to pray for peace in Lebanon and the Middle East, remarking that these regions are “once again torn apart by violence and war.” The Catholicosate of Cilicia encompasses Lebanon, Syria, Cyprus, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, the Gulf region, Iran, Greece, and the Americas, with its headquarters established in Antelias, Lebanon, since 1930.
During their meeting on Monday, the Pope assured the Catholicos of his daily prayers and concerns for the people of Lebanon and the Churches of the Middle East. At the General Audience, Pope Leo XIV thanked Catholicos Aram I for his “constant personal commitment to ecumenism,” particularly through the ongoing theological dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. He concluded, “Together, let us invoke the intercession of Saint Gregory the Illuminator, Saint Gregory of Nareg, Saint Nerses the Gracious, and, above all, the Virgin Mother of God, that they may enlighten our path towards the fullness of that unity we all desire.”
