Pope urges Churches to collaborate: Lebanon is in my daily prayers

“Your presence among us brings to mind the beloved country from which you come and which I had the joy of visiting last December,” the Pope noted in his address. However, he acknowledged that Lebanon “continues to face severe trials.”

Despite a theoretical ceasefire, Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah positions continue to impact the Lebanese population. This is especially true in the southern part of the country, where Israel appears intent on creating a buffer zone between the Israeli-Lebanese border and the Litani River.

Given this tense reality, the Pope called on local Churches “to strengthen the fraternal bonds that unite not only Christians amongst themselves, but also with their brothers and sisters from other communities in their shared homeland.” He also promised Aram I his “daily prayers and [...] deep concern” for the Lebanese people and the Churches of the Middle East.

A broader call for Christian unity and inter-Church dialogue took center stage in the Pope's address, coming six months after the commemoration of the Council of Nicaea. He highlighted the profound spiritual ties between Rome and the Armenian Church by pointing to St. Paul.

“Could there be a greater spiritual bond between our Churches than the Apostle Paul of Tarsus?” the Pope asked. He pointed out that the Apostle was born in Cilicia, located in modern-day Turkey, which serves as the historical seat of the Catholicosate led by Aram I.

The Pope also evoked the great historical figures who worked for Christian unity. He highlighted Saint Nerses the Gracious, a former Catholicos of Cilicia, describing him as “a pioneer of ecumenism.” The saint's recent inclusion in the Roman Martyrology serves as “a further example of that ‘ecumenism of the saints’ which already unites our Churches,” he explained.

Located at the “crossroads of different peoples and cultures,” the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia “has long been characterized by its ecumenical vocation, particularly with regard to the Church of Rome.” The Pope retraced several key milestones in the 20th-century rapprochement between the two Churches. He noted that Catholicos Khoren I was the first primate of an Oriental Orthodox Church to visit Rome after the Second Vatican Council in 1967.

The pontiff also paid tribute to Aram I’s personal dedication to inter-Christian dialogue, praising his “tireless ecumenical zeal” in both the Middle East and the World Council of Churches, where he chaired the Central Committee. Leo XIV placed special emphasis on the theological dialogue taking place between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches since 2003.

Aram I Keshishian has served as the Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia — one of the main jurisdictions of the Armenian Apostolic Church — since 1995. While historically established in Cilicia in southern Turkey, its headquarters is now located in Antelias, Lebanon, just outside Beirut.

His jurisdiction primarily extends to Armenian diaspora communities across the Middle East, including Lebanon, Syria, Cyprus, and Iran, along with several dioceses worldwide. It’s distinct from the Catholicosate of Etchmiadzin, which is based in Armenia. The Cilician see plays a crucial role in advancing ecumenical dialogue and defending Eastern Christian communities.

Accompanied by 12 other bishops from the Armenian diaspora, Aram I is currently on a multi-day visit to the Vatican. During his stay, he'll host a conference on the state of Christian Churches in the Middle East and attend the pope's general audience in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday, May 20.