CATHOLICOS CONGRATULATES POPE LEO XIV, RECALLS HISTORICAL TIES BETWEEN HOLY SEE AND VATICAN

On Saturday, May 10, His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, congratulated Pope Leo XIV on his election as the Pontiff of the Catholic Church.   

In his letter, the Catholicos expressed his wish that his election may open a new and brilliant chapter in the contemporary history of the Catholic Church. 

Referring to the current global crises and challenges and their impact on the Church’s life and witness, the Catholicos stress the imperative of renewing its mission and evangelical witness and emphasized the key role of the newly elected Pope in this regard, in light of his many years of experience. 

On this occasion, the Catholicos recalled the special relationship that has existed over many centuries between the Catholicosate of Cilicia and the Vatican, beginning in the very era of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. This has found concrete expression in recent decades through close inter-church cooperation and theological dialogue. 

At the conclusion of his letter, Catholicos Aram I offered a prayer to God to strengthen the newly elected Pope both spiritually and physically in the heavy and demanding mission he has now undertaken.