INITIAL GREETING OF POPE LEO XIV
TO HIS HOLINESS ARAM I
CATHOLICOS OF THE ARMENIAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH
OF THE HOLY SEE OF CILICIA (LEBANON), AND ENTOURAGE
Saint Peter's Square, Wednesday, 20 May 2026
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Peace be with you.
Brothers and sisters, I am very happy to welcome His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of Cilicia of the Armenian Apostolic Church, together with the distinguished delegation accompanying him. This fraternal visit represents an important opportunity to strengthen the bonds of unity that already exist between us, as we move towards full communion between our Churches.
Your Holiness, in these days when we prepare for Pentecost, I invoke the grace of the Holy Spirit upon your pilgrimage to the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul, and I invite all those present to pray fervently to the Lord that your visit and meetings may constitute a further step on the path towards full unity. Let us also pray for peace in Lebanon and the Middle East, once again torn apart by violence and war.
Your Holiness, I wish to express my particular gratitude for your constant personal commitment to ecumenism, especially to the international theological dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches.
Welcome, Your Holiness, dear bishops and dear friends! 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.
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