YEREVAN—As a centerpiece of his Papal Visit to Armenia, Pope Francis held an Ecumenical service for peace in Yerevan’s Republic Square, during which he urged Armenia’s youth to be active peacemakers in a world “suffering from persecutions and conflict.”
Pope Francis and Catholicos Karekin II led the procession to the Republic Square as all bells at Yerevan churches tolled simultaneously to mark this historic occasion. Continue reading
Pope Francis is expected to avoid using the word “genocide” when he visits a memorial to the massacre of up to 1.5 million Armenians this weekend.
His notable change of tone from a statement last year that the wholesale killing of Armenian Christians between 1915 and 1923 was the “first genocide of the 20th century” is aimed at avoiding a repeat of the ensuing diplomatic rift between Turkey and the Vatican.
The pontiff’s three-day visit to Armenia, which begins on Friday, includes prayers at Tsitsernakaberd, widely known as the genocide memorial and museum, in the capital, Yerevan. Continue reading…