Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica

The Armenian Genocide marked the beginning of many genocides to come, and Pope Francis acknowledged this in his message to Armenians. He stated that mankind has endured “three massive and unprecedented tragedies” (www.wsj.com) in the last century and that “The first, which is widely considered ‘the first genocide of the 20th Century’, struck your own Armenian people,” (www.wsj.com), reiterating the words of Pope John Paul II in 2001.

The profound words of Pope Francis and his sentiment towards his Armenian brothers and sisters were significant in bringing greater recognition to the unspeakable crimes of 1915, speaking out against the denial of the Turks despite risks of political and diplomatic disputes. He spoke for justice as he explained the sad reality of violence and hate in our world today, along with our failure to stop it: “It seems that humanity is incapable of putting a halt to the shedding of innocent blood…It seems that the human family has refused to learn from its mistakes by the law of terror, so that today, too, there are those who attempt to eliminate others with the help of a few, and with complicit silence of others who simply stand by.”

By accepting the validity of the Genocide, Pope Francis was able to overturn past remarks against the atrocity by people like Adolf Hitler, who ended his command on attacking Poland in 1939 by saying, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”

Hitler’s remark proves that when crime is not stopped, it is bound to repeat itself. If the injustices done by the Turkish government were brought to court, later massacres like the Holocaust, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Cambodian Genocide may have been avoided.

I am extremely grateful that I got to attend the second Easter Sunday Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica. Being a student at Northwest Catholic High School, I have learned and studied the history of the Church, along with her principles and traditions, and coming to Rome helped bring this knowledge of the Church to life. In a way, it was like a pilgrimage for me as I had the chance to explore the Catholic Church at its source, as well as learn more about my own faith.

Hearing the Pope discuss such an important matter as the Genocide made me feel incredibly honored and proud to be an Armenian Christian and to be present at such an unforgettable and historic event where one of the renowned saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church, St. Gregory of Narek was ranked as a Doctor of the Church. The Mass was unlike any other I had ever experienced in that it brought union and justice to our people as Christians and victims of the Genocide. Not only was the diverse congregation jubilant and devoted to prayer, but the church leaders were also very respectful of each other, referring to one another as “Beloved Brother in Christ” multiple times and professing how thankful they were to have the privilege of being able to participate in a mass this unique. Standing side by side, they brought a kind of reverent silence over the congregation as the faithful watched their church leaders share their remarks and lead them in worship.