By Jean-Charles Putzolu – Beirut
Hope, unity, peace, and justice.
These, according to Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian of the Armenian Catholic Church, are the seeds Pope Leo XIV has planted in Lebanese soil.
In an interview with Vatican News, the Patriarch reflected on the Pope’s first Apostolic Journey, which had come to an end the previous day.
A people alive and faithful
Patriarch Minassian said the Pope was struck by the vibrancy and faith of Christian communities in Türkiye and Lebanon: “Here, in this corner of the globe, there is a people who believe, a people who suffer in silence but whose resilience is strong.”
The Patriarch said the Pope had seen these qualities firsthand, in his encounters with young people and during the closing Mass on the Beirut Waterfront.
Absorbing and transforming pain
Minassian recalled his own meeting with the Pope with particular emotion: “When I described the situation we are living through, you could sense from his gaze how much he was taking it all upon himself — like someone who absorbs the hurt in your heart, carries it within his own, and transforms it into something positive, into deep and solid hope.”
Reflecting on the region’s broader challenges, Minassian stressed that peace cannot be built without a genuine pursuit of justice: “There is a call — a cry — for peace,” he said, a peace rooted both in social and personal transformation.
An invitation to Jerusalem
The Pope’s trip also included an invitation to all Christian Churches to come to Jerusalem for the 2033 Jubilee of Redemption, marking 2,000 years since the traditional date of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Minassian commented: “I think this is a beginning; unity already exists among the people of God.” He entrusted the journey of the entire Church to prayer, which is, he said, “an invincible weapon.”
“We are never alone”
Finally, Patriarch Minassian recalled the immense crowd gathered in prayer for the papal Mass: “I was deeply moved to see more than a hundred thousand people praying.”
Bringing the interview to a close, he stressed: “This is why we are never alone. And it is on this foundation that we must continue walking together.” – Vatican News
