Your Eminence Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals,

Your Eminence Cardinals, Archbishops,

with immense pain in my heart I received the announcement of the death of the Holy Father Francis. Please, accept my brotherly condolences and prayerful solidarity with all of you in this difficult moment for the whole Church!

His Holiness, as the Head of the Universal Church, the successor of St. Peter, with his ardent apostolic service, was a true disciple of our Lord and an exemplary model of Good Shepherd for all of us, especially bishops, who are entrusted with the sacred obligation of leading the sheep of the Lord. He taught us in our mission to always keep our ship within the direction, marked by the Gospel and having in the horizon the vision of the sanctification of our people and the life eternal. Great is the impact of the Holy Father in the process of understanding the teaching of the Gospel and the Catholic Church in line with the logic of the challenges of the modern times and of the implementation of the teaching in the social life.

Of immeasurable value is the fatherly care of His Holiness towards the Armenian people, especially the Armenian Catholic communities. And of special value is his courageous voicing of the truth about the Armenian Genocide in St. Peter’s Papal Basilica, on the 12^th of April, 2015, and afterwards, during his visit to Armenia, on the 24-26^th of June, 2016, as well as his untiring endeavors and support to the establishment of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan, to the defense of rights of the people of Artsakh. The Armenian people will never forget, that in those days of the Artsakh war of 2020, His Holiness was unceasingly calling to stop the military actions and the bloodshed, at the same time trying to reach peace by means of the diplomatic mission of the Holy See. The Armenian people will likewise never forget the large-scale assistance, that Holy Father has provided so far to Armenia through the Catholic Church related benevolent organizations, for the implementation of various social, educational and healthcare projects, moved by the principle of his lowly service to the poorest and his charity, guided by which he lived all his life both as a Jesuit priest and a defender of human rights and the successor of St. Peter.

In these days the death of His Holiness is being mourned in all of the Armenian Catholic communities. Holy Masses are being celebrated everywhere with the intention of the eternal peace of His Holiness. The memory of His Holiness will always remain brilliantly shining in the heart every Armenian Catholic believer.

Prayerfully joining with each and every one of You and beseeching the divine mercy for His beloved servant,

✠ Most Rev. KEVORK ARCHBISHOP NORADOUNGUIAN

Titular Archbishop of Sebastia,

Ordinary of the Armenian Catholics of Armenia, Georgia, Russia

and Eastern Europe