Pope Leo prays for peace in Lebanon and Middle East

By Devin Watkins

Pope Leo XIV renewed his greetings to His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church—See of Cilicia, during the Wednesday General Audience.

Catholicos Aram I joined Pope Leo on the stage in St. Peter’s Square, just two days after the two Church leaders had met and prayed together on Monday, May 18, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace.

Speaking at the start of the General Audience, Pope Leo expressed his joy to welcome Catholicos Aram I and his delegation, calling his fraternal visit “an important occasion to strengthen the bonds of unity that already exist between us, as we draw closer to full communion between our Churches.”

The Pope prayed that the Holy Spirit may bless the Armenian Catholicos’ pilgrimage to the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul.

“I invite all those present to pray fervently to the Lord that your visit and meetings may constitute a further step on the path towards full unity,” he said.

Pope Leo then urged everyone to pray for peace in Lebanon and the Middle East, which he said are “once again torn apart by violence and war.”

The Catholicosate of Cilicia includes Lebanon, Syria, Cyprus, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, the Gulf region, Iran, Greece, and the Americas. Since 1930, the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia has been headquartered in Antelias, Lebanon.

Catholicos Aram I joined Pope Leo on the stage at the Audience   (@Vatican Media)

During their meeting on Monday, the Pope assured the Catholicos of his daily prayers and concern for the people of Lebanon and the Churches of the Middle East.

At the General Audience, Pope Leo XIV thanked Catholicos Aram I for his “constant personal commitment to ecumenism,” especially through the theological dialogue taking place between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches.

“Together,” he concluded, “let us invoke the intercession of Saint Gregory the Illuminator, Saint Gregory of Nareg, Saint Nerses the Gracious and, above all, the Virgin Mother of God, that they may enlighten our path towards the fullness of that unity we all desire.”