by Franca Giansoldati
The mortal remains of the almost blessed Cardinal Agagianian, once the very powerful prefect of Propaganda Fide during the time of Paul VI, will leave Rome forever to be permanently transferred to Lebanon. The casket, sealed by the Vatican and kept in the Armenian church of San Nicola di Tolentino, will undergo a sort of check-in, including thorough inspections, before being loaded onto a regular Rome-Beirut flight. Despite traveling in the hold for obvious reasons, a delegation of Armenian ecclesiastics will be on board to ensure that every organizational phase can ‘guarantee the due respect and solemnity of the moment.’
Personally overseeing the airport procedures is the Patriarch of the Armenian Catholics, Raphael Minassian. After promoting the cause for beatification in Rome two years ago, he also insisted on definitively relocating Agagianian’s body to Lebanon, the country where the Armenian prelate had lived for a period before moving to Rome, where he died in 1971.
To welcome the almost blessed cardinal’s casket in Beirut, there will also be a Lebanese minister along with several political and religious personalities. ‘This event will represent an opportunity to unite Lebanese of all confessions, promoting national unity and interreligious dialogue,’ Minassian explained, emphasizing these aspects. He remains convinced that the venerable Agagianian can perform the miracle of reuniting Lebanese Christians, currently divided into various factions to the point of hindering the election of a president with their respective vetoes.
‘His return to Beirut offers a unique opportunity to renew faith and strengthen interfaith ties in the country. In an era characterized by profound changes, sometimes accompanied by doctrinal and moral challenges, the figure of Agagianian embodies the man of faith in whom grace and nature merge,’ emphasized Vatican News, reinforcing the expectations of the Armenian Patriarch Minassian.
Born in 1895 in present-day Georgia, Agagianian studied in Rome. In 1937 he was elected patriarch of the Armenian Catholic Church, taking the name Gregory Peter XV. It was Pius XII who made him a cardinal, and in 1960 he was appointed by John XXIII as Prefect of Propaganda Fide. During the 1963 Conclave, which saw the election of Paul VI, he was considered one of the papabile cardinals, coming very close to the papal throne. Subsequently, Paul VI appointed him as a moderator at the Second Vatican Council.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
This article is automatically translated
İlk yorum yapan siz olun