Pope Leo XIV traveled once again to Castel Gandolfo. There, he received Karekin II, the Patriarch of Armenia. This was the first time the two have held an audience together.
During the meeting, the patriarch invited the pontiff to visit Armenia and emphasized the need for peace. Both leaders agreed that peace must be based on justice.
The audience took place at Villa Barberini, the papal residence which the pontiff had moved to the night before.
Karekin II had previously met with the three other popes: St. John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis, who even traveled to Armenia in 2016 and recognized the country as “the first Christian people in history.”
POPE FRANCIS
I cherish recalling here the decisive impetus given to the intensification of relations and the strengthening of dialogue between our two Churches in recent times by Their Holinesses Vasken I and Karekin I, by Saint John Paul II, and by Benedict XVI.
With this new meeting, Pope Leo XIV and Karekin II once again underline the importance of dialogue and cooperation between Churches, amidst an international situation marked by tensions and conflict.
BAM
