Pope Francis approves canonization of Archbishop murdered during Armenian Genocide

Pope Francis has approved a decree on canonizing Archbishop Ignatius Choukrallah Maloyan, who was murdered during the Armenian genocide, the Vatican’s news service reported.

Blessed Ignatius Choukrallah Maloyan was born in 1869 in Mardin, in present-day Türkiye.

Ordained a priest in 1883 in Lebanon, he took the Christian name Ignatius and became known as an excellent preacher in both Arabic and Turkish, devoting himself to parish ministry and the study of sacred texts in Alexandria, Egypt, Vatican News reported.

In 1911, Pope Pius X appointed him Archbishop of Mardin during the Synod of Armenian Bishops in Rome.

During the Armenian Genocide, Archbishop Maloyan was arrested along with 13 priests and 600 other Christians.

Archbishop Maloyan and his companions were executed on June 3, 1915, when they refused to renounce the faith. He was beatified by Pope St. John Paul II on October 7, 2001.

The Pope also approved the canonization of layman Peter To Rot from Papua New Guinea and Venezuelan religious founder Mother Maria del Monte Carmelo.