Vatican City: Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday held his first private audience with Catholicos Karekin II, the spiritual leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church, in a landmark encounter that strengthened ecumenical bonds and reaffirmed the pursuit of peace rooted in justice.
The meeting, which unfolded at Villa Barberini in Castel Gandolfo, was described as “fraternal and cordial” by Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, the Armenian Church’s representative to the Holy See. According to Archbishop Barsamian, discussions touched on key ecclesial concerns, with the Catholicos highlighting the plight of Armenians in Artsakh and extending an invitation to Pope Leo to visit Armenia.
“The dialogue was conducted in a spirit of deep mutual respect,” Archbishop Barsamian noted, underscoring that both leaders reaffirmed the central Christian call to peace. Catholicos Karekin, marking twenty-five years of leadership, stressed that peace must be grounded in justice to have lasting meaning.
Following the papal audience, Catholicos Karekin’s delegation proceeded to the Vatican for high-level meetings with senior Curial officials. Among those he met were Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, and Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education.
The Armenian delegation then visited the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, where the Catholicos prayed at the tomb of Pope Francis, honoring the late pontiff with whom he had cultivated strong ties of friendship. He also spent time in devotion before the ancient icon of the Salus Populi Romani, a Marian image cherished by generations of popes.
This visit marks the continuation of a long tradition of dialogue between the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Catholic Church. Since his election in 1999, Catholicos Karekin II has met with three popes St. John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis before his historic first audience with Pope Leo XIV.
His initial visit to Rome came in November 2000, during the Jubilee Year, when he signed a joint declaration with St. John Paul II affirming shared faith in the Triune God, the Apostolic tradition, and the unity of the Church as the Body of Christ. That visit also saw John Paul II gift the Catholicos with relics of St. Gregory the Illuminator, a foundational saint for the Armenian Church.
Over the decades, subsequent visits deepened collaboration. In 2001, John Paul II traveled to Armenia to mark the 1700th anniversary of Christianity as the nation’s state religion. Later, Benedict XVI welcomed the Catholicos for an ecumenical celebration in 2008. Under Pope Francis, ties grew further: in 2015, Karekin II stood beside Francis during a Mass remembering the Armenian martyrs of 1915, and in 2016 the Pope visited Armenia itself. Francis also honored Armenian heritage by proclaiming St. Gregory of Narek a Doctor of the Church and dedicating a statue to him in the Vatican Gardens in 2018.
Tuesday’s audience with Pope Leo XIV adds a new chapter to this ecumenical journey. With the Catholicos reiterating the urgent need for peace in the South Caucasus and the Pope reaffirming his closeness to the Armenian people, the meeting set the tone for future collaboration rooted in faith, dialogue, and shared witness to Christ’s love.
Funeral-like solemnity, tempered with hopeful fraternity, defined the day. As both leaders emphasized, the dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church is not merely about history it is about building bridges for the future, especially in times of trial for the Armenian people.