Armenian Catholic Church awaiting Pope’s visit

(August 31, 2012) The Armenian Catholic Church based in Lebanon is eagerly awaiting Pope Benedict XVI’s pastoral visit to the country in two weeks’ time, hoping it will bring about peace, reconciliation and dialogue among all the people of the Middle East. The supreme council of the Armenian Catholic Church, headed by Patriarch Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmuni, recently met to assess the importance of the Pope’s September 14-16 visit to Lebanon when he will release his Apostolic Exhortation of the Special Synod of Bishops for the Middle East held in the Vatican in October 2010. Urging the prayers of the faithful, participants in the meeting tried to assess how much the visit could help consolidate national harmony and foster coexistence between Christianity and Islam both in Lebanon and in the Middle East. The supreme council urged Armenian Catholics to attend papal events in large numbers especially the Holy Mass in Beirut on the last day, Sept. 16. The Armenian Catholic Church expressed its commitment towards the Apostolic Exhortation regarding it as a “lighthouse that will accompany the Lebanese people’ in their journey.