President Joseph Aoun and First Lady Naamat Aoun attended the solemn Mass during which Blessed Bishop Ignatius Maloyan, of the Armenian Catholic Church, was proclaimed a saint on the altars of the Catholic Church.
The ceremony, celebrated on Sunday morning in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, was presided over by Pope Leo XIV in the presence of several heads of state and international dignitaries, as well as numerous cardinals and patriarchs, including Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rahi and Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian, Catholicos of the Armenian Catholic Church of Cilicia.
During the Mass, Pope Leo XIV also proclaimed the canonization of six other blesseds: Peter To Rot, Vincenza Maria Poloni, Maria del Monte Carmelo Rendiles Martínez, Maria Troncatti, José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros, and Bartolo Longo.
In his homily, the Holy Father declared:
“Today, seven holy men and women stand before us, witnesses who, by God’s grace, kept the lamp of faith burning and became beacons shining with the light of Christ throughout the world.”
He added:
“The Lord calls on His disciples to persevere in prayer without growing weary. Just as we never tire of breathing, we should never tire of praying. As breathing sustains the body, prayer sustains the soul.”
At the end of the ceremony, Pope Leo XIV greeted President Aoun, as well as Italian President Sergio Mattarella and the official delegation from Armenia, expressing his hope that peace will prevail throughout the world and that violence and suffering will come to an end.
Pope Leo XIV Meets President Aoun
Before the Mass, Pope Leo XIV received President Aoun and the First Lady. The Lebanese president conveyed that all Lebanese are eagerly awaiting the Pope’s visit, scheduled for the end of next month, and assured him that all necessary preparations have been made to ensure its success, thanking the Holy Father for accepting the invitation.
Pope Leo XIV confirmed that he will indeed visit Lebanon, describing it as “a visit of peace and hope.”
On the sidelines of the celebration, President Aoun also met with Italian President Sergio Mattarella.
As a reminder, Ignazio Choukrallah Maloyan was an Armenian bishop and martyr killed in 1915 by Ottoman forces for refusing to convert to Islam during the Armenian genocide.
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