Pope Francis turns 80 years

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 17, ARMENPRESS. Pope Francis celebrates the 80th birth anniversary on December 17. “Armenpress” reports leaders of various states have congratulated the religious leader of the Catholic world on the birthday.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio became the 266th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church in March 2013. He is prominent for his position on the Armenian Genocide.

When Armenia was commemorating the 91st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the then Bishop of Buenos Aires called on Turkey to recognize the Armenian Genocide as “the grieviest crime committed against the Armenian people and the entire mankind by the Ottoman Empire”.

Pope Francis delivered a liturgy dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide on April 12, 2015 at the St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I, as well as the Patriarch of the Armenian Catholic Church Nerses BedrosXIX were present at that historical event. During the liturgy the Pope mentioned that a genocide took place in the 20th century, killing Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians.

On June 24, 2016 Pope Francis visited Armenia. The long-waited visit was entitled “Visit to the first Christian country”. He visited Armenian Genocide memorial complex Tsitsernakaberd in Yerevan, put a wreath at the memorial and prayed for the souls of the innocent victims. Pope Francis wrote a note in the Book of Honorable Guests of the Genocide Museum, which reads: “Here I pray with sorrow in my heart so that a tragedy like this never again occurs, so that humanity will never forget and will know how to defeat evil with good. May God endow peace and consolation to the beloved Armenian people and to the whole world. May God protect the memory of the Armenian people. Memory should never be diluted or forgotten. Memory is the source of peace and the future.”