The Pope’s tribute to the Armenian Church that during history has experienced "persecution and martyrdom" but managed also and "quickly" to achieve important results in the area of youth education, the training of the clergy, ecclesial life and the promotion of Christian values in Armenia and abroad. This is how Pope Benedict XVI welcomed His Holiness Karekin II and the delegation of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the Vatican this morning. At 11.30 am, the Holy Father received the Patriarch in a private audience. Then, in the Popes’ Room, he met the Armenian bishops in the retinue of His Holiness Karekin II. At 12.15, in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace, Benedict XVI officiated the ‘Mid-Hour’ with the participation of the Armenian delegation. During the celebration, the Pope said: "the recent history of the Armenian Apostolic Church has been written in the clashing colours of persecution and martyrdom, of darkness and hope, of humiliation and spiritual rebirth. Your Holiness and the members of your delegation have experienced these clashing experiences in your families and in your own lives". Once freed, the Armenian Apostolic Church managed to achieve "remarkable pastoral results" which the Pope says he regards "with great esteem". (continued)
