Pope: Catholicos Aram I’s visit strengthens ‘the bonds of unity that already exist between us’
The Lebanese bishop sat alongside Leo XIV during today’s general audience in St Peter's Square. The pope mentioned the journey towards "full communion" and called to pray "for peace in Lebanon and the Middle East." To a group of athletes, he said: "the true goal is not material victory, but respect for your opponent." The catechesis on the Second Vatican Council's constitution on the liturgy “represents a sign of the unity of the human race in Christ.”
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Leo XIV opened this morning's general audience by greeting Aram I, Catholicos of Cilicia in the Armenian Apostolic Church, seated next to him in St Peter's Square, before 25,000 people.
The pontiff, who met Aram I met on Monday, welcomed him by stressing the importance of “strengthen[ing] the bonds of unity that already exist between us”.
Speaking in English, the pope thanked the Catholicos for his “commitment to ecumenism, especially to the international theological dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches.”
Leo also called for prayers for "full communion," invoking the intercession of Saint Gregory the Illuminator, founder of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The Lebanese Catholicos was accompanied by a "distinguished delegation" of bishops, who were also present at the audience.
“Let us also pray for peace in Lebanon and the Middle East, once again torn apart by violence and war,” Leo said.
“As we await Pentecost, let us pray to the Spirit of God that with His gifts He may awaken human consciences, turn them away from iniquity, violence, and war, and renew the face of the earth!” Leo said in his greetings to Polish pilgrims.
In his closing remarks, the pontiff mentioned a sporting event promoted by the Ethics in Sport Movement, which involved young people near St Peter's Square this morning.
"Dear friends, you have a noble mission: to preserve the soul of sport; remember that the true goal is not material victory, but respect for your opponent, fair play, and the inclusion of all," Leo said from the basilica's parvis.
In the catechesis that he read after greeting Aram I, Leo XIV continued his reflections on the Documents of the Second Vatican Council, examining in depth the constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, promulgated by Pope Paul VI on 4 December 1963.
Today’s theme was “The Liturgy in the Mystery of the Church” (Reading: Eph 1:9-10), which opens a cycle dedicated to the liturgy, “a sign of the unity of the entire human race in Christ.”
“[T]he Council Fathers sought not only to undertake a reform of the rites, but to lead the Church to contemplate and deepen that living bond which constitutes and unites her: the mystery of Christ,” the pope explained.
The pontiff explained that such a “mystery” is not “an obscure reality, but God’s salvific plan” through “the passion, death, resurrection and glorification of Christ, which is made sacramentally present to us precisely in the liturgy”.
“Christ Himself is the inner source of the mystery of the Church, the holy people of God, born from His side pierced on the cross. In the holy liturgy, through the power of His Spirit, He continues to act. He sanctifies and unites the Church, His bride, to His offering to the Father,” he said.
“The rituality of the Church expresses her faith – in accordance with the familiar saying lex orandi, lex credendi – and at the same time shapes ecclesial identity: the proclaimed Word, the celebration of the Sacrament, the gestures, the silences, the space – all this represents and gives form to the people gathered by the Father, the Body of Christ, the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Every celebration thus becomes a true epiphany of the Church in prayer, as Saint John Paul II recalled”.
In the constitution, the liturgy is treated as “the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed,” Leo said. Indeed, although “the action of the Church is not limited to the liturgy alone, [. . .] all her activity (preaching, service to the poor, the accompaniment of human realities) converges towards this ‘summit’).”
“[T]he liturgy sustains the faithful by immersing them ever and anew in the Pasch of the Lord,” so that “they are refreshed, encouraged and renewed in their commitment to faith and in their mission.”
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