Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II Makes First Ever Pontifical Visit to Mexico

His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, paid a historic Pontifical Visit to Mexico on Monday, October 30, 2017. "On behalf of the Armenian people, we have come to express our solidarity and condolences to the people of Mexico whose hearts were shattered as a result of the September earthquakes," said His Holiness, who also met with members of the Armenian-Mexican community, descendants of the first genocide of the 20th century.

Pope Calls Killings of Armenians ‘Genocide,’ Provoking Turkish Anger

Jim Yardley

Sebnem Arsu

Pope Francis on Sunday, April 12, 2015 described the World War I-era slaughter of Armenians by the Ottoman Turks as the first genocide of the 20th century, igniting a diplomatic confrontation with Turkey, which quickly summoned the Vatican’s ambassador to condemn the pontiff’s remarks and recalled its own ambassador to the Holy See.

Jerusalem Patriarch vs. Catholicos of All Armenians: Setting the Record Straight

In an unprecedented and tersely-worded letter, Jerusalem Patriarch Archbishop Nourhan Manougian criticizes His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, urging him to reinforce the Armenian Church’s “spiritual foundations,” which the Patriarch says have been waning.

The letter comes as a protest of recent events in the France Diocese, which prompted the resignation early last month of the popular Primate of France Archbishop Norvan Zakarian, which has created across-the-board and collective outrage from the French-Armenian community.

Karekin II to Barack Obama in 2009: "Unacceptable Situation" in Georgia

His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, in December 2009 wrote a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama alerting him to the continued abuses of religious and ethnic minorities in Georgia, a cable released on August 26, 2011 by the whistleblower site WikiLeaks revealed. In his letter, the Catholicos brought the “unacceptable situation” of religious minorities in Georgia to Obama’s attention, noting that the situation has worsened since the collapse of the Soviet Union.