Pope: Let us pray for Lebanon and the Middle East

Pope Leo XIV addressed Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church of the House of Cilicia, saying: “Let us pray for peace in Lebanon and the Middle East, once again torn apart by violence and war.”

He said: “This fraternal visit is an important opportunity to strengthen the bonds of unity that already exist between us, as we draw closer to full communion between our two Churches. Your Holiness, in these days as we prepare for the feast of 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 another step along the path toward full unity. Let us pray for peace in Lebanon and the Middle East, once again torn apart by violence and war.”

He continued: “I would like to express my particular gratitude for your continuing personal commitment to ecumenical work, especially in the international theological dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. Welcome, Your Holiness, and venerable bishops and dear friends. Let us pray together, asking the intercession of Saint Gregory the Illuminator, Saint Gregory of Narek, and Saint Nerses the Gracious, and above all, the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, that they may illumine our path toward the fullness of that unity for which we all long.”

For his part, Vatican affairs expert Antonio Montoia told the National News Agency that “the visit paves the way for a genuine partnership between the Holy See and the Armenian Apostolic Church of the See of Cilicia, as it is working seriously in Lebanon under very difficult circumstances.”