The Pope visits the Apostolic and Catholic Cathedrals in Gyumri
(Vatican Radio) During the afternoon of his second day in Armenia, Pope Francis’s schedule included a visit to the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral and to the Armenian Catholic Cathedral in the city of Gyumri, the second most populous city of the Nation.
Listen to the report by Linda Bordoni:
After morning an open-air Mass in Gyumri’s central Square and lunch at a convent, the Pope travelled to the airport to board the plane taking him back to Yerevan for an event featuring an Ecumenical Encounter and a Prayer for Peace in the capital city’s Republic Square.
On the way, a first stop took him to the Apostolic Armenian Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God.
Here Pope Francis and Catholicos Karekin II were to be greeted by Armenian Apostolic Bishops and by a small group of disabled people and Syrian refugees.
After praying in silence before the Marian Icon of the Seven Wounds and venerating the Crucifix together with the Catholicos, the Pope was to impart his Apostolic Blessing.
The Apostolic Armenian Cathedral is known also as the Seven Wounds of the Holy Mother of God. Located in Vartanants Square, it is the seat of the Diocese of Shirak .
The church is topped with a large dome at the center surrounded with 2 minor domes. Unlike other Armenian churches, the altar at the Holy Mother of God is unique for its multi-iconic decoration. The church remained active during the Soviet years. After the 1988 Spitak earthquake, the building was restored after independence thanks to the contribution of Armenian benefactors who had emigrated to Argentina. The two minor domes that fell down during the earthquake were replaced with new ones and tthe fallen domes are currently placed in the church yard.
The second Cathedral Pope Francis to receive the Pope’s visit on Friday afternoon is the Armenian Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Martyrs.
Here, the Pope and the Catholicos are greeted at the main entrance of the church by Archbishop Raphael Francois Minassian, the Ordinary of Eastern Europe for Armenian Catholics and by the Parish Priest .
Awaiting them inside the small cathedral, a group of benefactors of the Armenian Catholic Church.
The Cathedral is the seat of the Ordinariate for Armenia, Georgia, Russia, and Eastern Europe of the Armenian Catholic Church. Construction for the building began in December 2010 and was completed in 2015.
The cathedral was originally to be named “Holy Cross”, but was changed to “Holy Martyrs” in effort to pay tribute to the victims of the Armenian Genocide.