Catholicos Aram I of the Great House of Cilicia had a meeting with Pope Francis I at the Vatican.

Catholicos Aram I reminded the Pope that the Middle East is in a state of crisis and that the consequences of that crisis are often troubling for the Churches. The Catholicos said that in spite of this, the churches remain strongly clung to the Middle East and loyal to Christianity, as well as civil rights and duties.

Addressing the issue of the Armenian Genocide, the Supreme Patriarch recalled the consequences of the Armenian Genocide perpetrated by Ottoman Turkey in 1915 and the formation of the Diaspora. The Catholicos said the Armenians not only suffered the loss of 1.5 million Armenians, but also their churches, cultural and spiritual values and that recognition of the Armenian Genocide and reparation are the demands of all Armenians. After reminding the Pope that in September 1915 Pope Benedict XV had condemned the Armenian Genocide in his letter addressed to Sultan Mohammed V and had called for putting an end to the Armenian massacres, the Supreme Patriarch added: “Our people look forward to your support to the Armenians next year. This will surely be of great significance for us.”

In response, Pope Francis addressed the Armenian Genocide and said: “The Armenian people are a part of the Christian world. They have undergone many sufferings and trials and tribulations, and they have survived all that for the love of God. The Armenian Apostolic Church has faithful followers and represents the journey to the kingdom of God. Several faithful Armenians have migrated, have been persecuted and have been killed, and all that has deeply hurt the Armenians. We have to look at those wounds as the wounds on the body of Christ, as the endless hope and the reason for confidence in the piety of God.”

The speeches by the two spiritual leaders were followed by exchange of gifts. Catholicos Aram I gave the Pope a copy of the Bible, and the Pope gave the Catholicos a page from the Bible of St. John written on a cigar in the 14^th century.

Later, the Catholicos and his accompanying delegation were served dinner by the Pope.

Aztag