YEREVAN — Pope Franics visited the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial today accompanied by President Serzh Sarkisian, His Holiness Karekin II, other clergymen and officials.
An intercessory prayer was delivered with the participation of Catholicos of All Armenians, Pope Francis and other top clerics. The Pope laid flowers in the Eternal Flame of the innocent victims and planted a fir tree in the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial park.
Later, Pope Francis talked to descendants of the 400 Armenian orphans who were rescued in 1915 and lodged at the papal Castel Gandolfo residence near Rome.
After visiting the Genocide Memorial, Pope Francis singed the Honorary Guest Book in the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute by writing:
“We are praying here for the tragedy of the Armenian people, and let the humanity understand this and differentiate bad from good. Let the memory of the tragedy of the Armenian people stay within us, and it is the memory that will prevent similar crimes in the future”.
