On June 24-26, by the invitation of RA President Serzh Sargsyan, Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II and the Catholic Church, Pope Francis will arrive in Armenia to visit Gyumri. Today, the delegation of the Pope was in Gyumri: the cardinals and the press office executive who discussed organizational matters with spiritual and marz authorities regarding the visit of the Pope.
Note that the Pope himself expressed willingness to visit Gyumri, as there is a large Catholic community in Shirak region. According to the information of the Armenian Catholic Diocese, this marz has 13 Catholic communities and the total number of Catholics in the villages of Shirak region is about 10 thousand. Last year, the Armenian Catholic “Holy Martyrs” Church was opened in Gyumri, which is the Vicarial or the Mother Church of the Armenian Catholics in Armenia, Georgia, Russia and Eastern Europe. The Pope will perform a liturgy not in the “Holy Martyrs” Church but in Vardanants Square in Gyumri. The Cardinals came, examined the territory of the Church, and concluded that it is a small church while usually a large number of crow attends the Pope’s liturgies.
Nune AREVSHATYAN
