On October 30, the delegation led by His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians arrived in Mexico City on a pontifical visit.

As reported the Information Service of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin to Hayern Aysor, at the airport, His Holiness was greeted by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to Mexico Ara Ayvazyan; Archbishop of the Maronite Catholic Church of Mexico Georges Saad Abi Yunes; Pastor of the Armenian Catholic Church of Mexico, Rev. Fr. Supreme Archimandrite Sasun Zmrukhtyan and members of the local Armenian community.

From the airport, His Holiness headed towards the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia where he had a meeting with the personnel. Afterwards, the Supreme Patriarch visited the Our Lady of Guadalupe where he said a prayer to God along with the local clergymen. His Holiness also met with Mayor of Mexico City Miguel Angel Montserrat.

Afterwards, the Catholic Church in Mexico hosted an inter-church prayer attended by Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrerra; the Papal Nuncio; representatives of the Sister Churches and state authorities and several believers. During the ceremony, the choir of the St. Ghevondyants Church of the U.S. Western Diocese performed beautiful songs in four voices. His Holiness delivered a message, bringing his blessing and expressing his welcoming remarks to the attendees. His Holiness also expressed sorrow for the earthquake that had struck Mexico. The Supreme Patriarch particularly said the following in his speech: “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” (Romans 12 12). We transmit these words of Paul the Apostle as a way of consoling you to overcome all hardships and challenges. Our nation also suffered the pain of a devastating earthquake in 1988. The bitterness of these days still hasn’t been erased from the collective memory of our nation, but the determination to see our country and our lives renewed, the helping hand of kind people, humanitarian organizations and friendly countries, their love and compassion, the spiritual console and words of encouragement filled us with optimism and empowered us to shape new lives with patience and prayers.

My dears, it is this testimony of the Armenian people that we wish to transmit to you, the testimony of a nation that rose again in spite of all the trials and tribulations throughout history, relying on God and reshaping history.

With faith in God and with zeal in the Christian mission, the Mexican people, the integral part of which is the Armenian community, is also eliminating the consequences of the disaster with hope, with prayers to console the relatives of the victims and help the wounded recover, and with patience to overcome this tribulation in the history of Mexico. Our wish is to have the Lord protect the Catholic Church in Mexico and empower the clergymen to act according to the calling of the Doctor with love and compassion in order to console the pious people of Mexico with hope and help the country recover the spiritual, moral and material damages caused by the devastating earthquake.” The Supreme Patriarch  encouraged the people of Mexico and consoled them and prayed for the souls of the victims to rest in peace.

After the ceremony, His Holiness visited the Museum of Memory and Tolerance, which exhibits the genocides of the 20^th century, including the Armenian Genocide. The Armenian community of Mexico hosted a reception in the ceremonies hall of the Museum.

Among the attendees were RA Ambassador Ara Ayvazyan, as well as representatives of the municipal authorities and the sister Churches. The Ambassador delivered his welcoming remarks. The members of the community gave welcoming remarks, expressing their joy and excitement on the occasion of the visit of the Supreme Patriarch. His Holiness welcomed the fact that the representatives of the sister Churches and state officials were attending this meeting and gave his blessing to the Armenian community, expressing his joy and good impressions of the visit. The Catholicos of All Armenians wished the Armenians of Mexico stay true to their mission of serving the Church and the nation.