09/09/2026
After the days in Venice, the Armenian delegation's journey continued in Rome with two moments of profound spiritual and cultural value.
The delegation — accompanied by members of the choir that had performed at the Divine Liturgy on San Lazzaro — took part in the General Audience of Pope Leo XIV, held on Wednesday 9 September in St Peter's Square. In a moment of recollection and universal fraternity, the delegation offered the Holy Father a gift, a sign of the devotion and gratitude of the Armenian people towards the Church of Rome — an ancient bond, rooted in the common Christian faith that unites Armenia, the first nation to embrace Christianity as a state religion, with the Holy See.
The visit then continued at the offices of Vatican News, home for sixty years to an Armenian-language editorial desk. Founded in 1966, this section is far more than a news service: it is, as it has been described, a "bridge of communion, brotherhood and evangelical witness", which has kept alive — even through the trials of history — the spiritual conscience of a people deeply rooted in the Christian faith. Armenian is one of the fifty-seven languages through which Vatican News brings the voice of the Church to the world.
Taking part in the visit were Anna Hayroyan, Gohar Ghumashyan and Stefano Maggi, Secretary General of CCIAM.
«To be here, in Rome, beside the Holy Father and in the house that for sixty years has spoken to the world in the language of Mesrop Mashtots, reminds us that the ties between Italy and Armenia are rooted in the spirit even before business. It is from this depth — cultural, spiritual, human — that lasting collaborations are born», said Stefano Maggi, Secretary General of CCIAM.
