On November 2, an ecumenical mass was served in memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide at the Papal Basilica of St. Francis of the Italian city of Assisi under the direction of the Basilica’s General Abbot Mauro Gambetti and with the participation of Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Italy, Father Tovma Archimandrite Khachatryan.
During the Holy Mass, Guillermo Spirito spoke about the symbol of commemorating the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide, expressed his solidarity with the canonization of the victims of the Armenian Genocide by the Armenian Apostolic Church and cited words from the works of Daniel Varoujan.
The Holy Mass was followed by the grand ceremony of consecration of an Armenian cross-stone dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide and donated by Italy-based Armenian benefactor Artur Hakobyan. The cross-stone was placed right near the entrance to the Papal Basilica of St. Francis.
After the consecration, Armenia’s Ambassador to Italy Sargis Ghazaryan expressed words of gratitude to the Franciscan Order for the solidarity with the Armenian people, noting that Karen Kokchyan’s personal photo exhibition called “The Armenians and Armenia”, which showcases photos of Armenian churches, monasteries and cultural monuments and landscapes, was opened in March through the combined efforts of the Embassy of Armenia in Italy, the Papal Basilica of St. Francis and the Union of Armenians of Italy and continues to run in the territory of the Basilica. The Ambassador added that 2 million people have already attended the exhibition. He also expressed gratitude to Artur Hakobyan and the Union of Armenians of Italy for their ongoing support to the implementation of the Embassy’s initiatives.
The Ambassador noted that the indifference towards the need to preserve the memory of genocides of the past, as well as the silence and denial are the causes of more crimes against humanity. In that context, the Ambassador touched upon the current atrocities of ISIS against Christians and other minorities in the Middle East.
Ambassador Sargis Ghazaryan also talked about the efforts that Armenia is making in bilateral and multilateral formats at the international level with the purpose of preventing future genocides.
Among those attending the ecumenical mass and the consecration of the cross-stone were Mayor of Asizi Claudio Ricci, Members of the Parliament of Italy and the European Parliament, representatives of the city’s public, political and spiritual circles, as well as members of the local Armenian community and mass media representatives.
Reference: The Papal Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi is one of the major churches of Italy and the Catholic World. Thousands of tourists and pilgrims visit the Basilica every day, and the Basilica has about 15 million visitors a year. It is the main place of worship of Saint Francis, the Catholic guardian of Italy and Europe, and here is where the annual March for International Peace starts from.
