Today, 19 October, 2025, Pope Leo XIV made the Blessed Ignatius Maloyan, the Archbishop martyred in Western Armenia in 1915, a saint of the Catholic or Universal Church (the biography can be seen here), together with other 6 foreign blessed.

The canonization ceremony took place in St. Peter’s square, with the prayerful participation of H.B. Raphael Bedros Minassian, the Catholicos Patriarch of the House of Cilicia, the bishops of Armenian Catholic Church, bishops of Armenian Apostolic Church, Niko Pashinyan, the Prime Minister of Armenia (which was a very important step towards the worthy recognition of the Armenian Catholic heritage), Sergio Mattarella, the President of Italy, also other higher authorities, and about fifty thousand believers, who have come from various countries, according to the nationalities of the seven newly declared saints, including also believers from the Armenian Catholic community of Armenia.

Cardinal Semeraro, the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, in the first place introduced the short biographies of the seven blessed, starting with the martyrdom story of the Armenian saint. Then the ceremony was adorned with the beautiful prayer-song Litany of All Saints, which linked the earth with the Heaven, the pilgrim Church with the Heavenly Church of saints and angels, descending the living presence of dozens of thousands of saints of the two-thousand-year-history of the Catholic Church. Pope Leo XIV, the successor of Saint Peter the Apostle, announced the words of canonization declaring Ignatius Maloyan and the other blessed saints, with the power given to him by Christ, also commending all of the Catholics of the world to honor them as saints and ask for their intercession.

Then a Holy Mass was served, before which the Holy Father spoke about imitating the saints, concluding his speech in the following words: “May their intercession assist us in our trials and their example inspire us in our shared vocation to holiness. As we journey towards this goal, let us pray without ceasing, and continue in what we have learned and firmly believe (cf. 2 Tim 3:14). Faith on earth thus sustains the hope for heaven”.

These words of the Pope communicate a distinct color to this event. Today the Catholic Church, in person of the successor of St. Peter and the bishops in communion with him, who are the successors of the holy Apostles, reinstated her love and esteem towards the devoted faith and holiness of the worthy descendant of Armenian people, also additionally expressing her esteem of historical, age long Christian identity and saints of Armenian people. This was done also by the many predecessors of Pope Leo XIV, especially, Leo XIII, Benedict XV, St. John Paul II and Francis.

Fr. Hovsep Galstyan

19 October, 2025