Tomorrow, on April 12, Pope Francis will serve a Holy Mass dedicated to the memory of the innocent victims of the Armenian Genocide at the St. Peter’s Basilica of the Vatican. Among the participants of the Holy Mass will be RA President Serzh Sargsyan; His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians and His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia. Prior to the Holy Mass, the Holy See has distributed prayer books including the word “genocide”. This has literally shocked Turkey. According to ermenihaber.am, Turkey’s internethaber.com has covered the topic in an article entitled “From the Vatican to Ankara: A Shocking Decision”.

The author of the article mentions that the prayer book entitled “Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy” and “Holy Mass Devoted to the 100^th Anniversary of Armenian Martyrdom” includes prayers for masses, excerpts from the Bible, as well as the biography of Saint Gregory the Illuminator, whom the Catholic Church has granted the title of “Archimandrite of the Universal Church”, which Pope Francis will declare during the Holy Mass.

The Turkish source also cites the following phrase included in the prayer book.

“Our Lord Jesus Christ, mercy to the victims of genocides, wars and all massacres that have left the most painful trace in the history of mankind, and especially to the representatives of the Armenian nation remembered during this mass.”

It’s still unclear as to whether Pope Francis will use the term “genocide” during the Holy Mass commemorating the Armenian martyrs or not.

Let us mention that during a visit to Buenos Aires as an archbishop, the current Pope had declared that “the Turks perpetrated genocide against the Armenians”, and when elected Pope of Rome, on one occasion, he had mentioned that the Armenian Genocide was the first genocide of the 20^th century.