Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Abouna.org
Beirut (Agenzia Fides) - Joy and emotion in Lebanon: the remains of the Servant of God, Cardinal Agagianian, a leading figure in the Church of the 20th century, have returned home. Since 1971 they have been resting in the Church of San Nicola da Tolentino, next to the Pontifical Armenian College in the heart of Rome, a few steps from the building of the Dicastery of Propaganda Fide, of which he was Prefect from 1960 to 1970.
The flight from Rome-Fiumicino took off yesterday and arrived in Beirut in the evening. The welcoming ceremony was attended by Patriarch Minassian, the Lebanese Prime Minister Najīb ʿAzmī Mīqātī and various personalities from religion, political and civil society.
The remains were then taken by car to Martyrs' Square in the heart of the capital, where a solemn ceremony took place.
The coffin was carried to the altar erected for the occasion by 12 young people representing the country's various denominations. In addition to thousands of people, civil and religious authorities were also present. As the relics passed by, many reached out and tried to touch the coffin to ask for a blessing.
The initial prayers were followed by the screening of a documentary on the life of the Patriarch. A life, that of Agagianian, with singular features and with various connections that united this son of the Armenian people to what was once called the Congregation of Propaganda Fide, in the universal horizon of the mission entrusted by Christ to his Church (see Fides, 28/10/2022).
Ghazaros Lazarus Agagianian was born in Akhaltisikhe (Georgia) on September 18, 1895 and went to Rome to study as a priest at the age of 11. At the age of just 42, he was appointed Armenian Catholic Patriarch of Cilicia. Pope Pius XII made him a Cardinal in 1946. John XXIII entrusted him with the office of Pro-Prefect and then Prefect of the then Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. He was the first Prefect to personally visit the missions in Africa, Asia and Oceania.
Agagianian also played an important role during the Second Vatican Council as Moderator and President of the Commission for the Missions.
"In these difficult days and in the face of the dangers that surround Lebanon, we decided to bring the remains of the Servant of God here for as purpose, to show the world that we live our cohesion, solidarity and mutual love between the confessions and all parties. That is why it was 12 young people, representing our people, who brought the casket here to the altar," said the Patriarch of the Armenian Catholic Church, Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian.
"I ask God and his servant Agagianian to look at each of us and guide us in these difficult days that we are going through. Let us take the initiative of national and political reconciliation so that our homeland, Lebanon, can regain its beauty," concluded Minassian.
At the end of the nearly two-hour ceremony, the Cardinal's body was carried in procession to the Armenian Catholic Cathedral, where it was interred in a new crypt. (F.B.) (Agenzia Fides, 13/9/2024)
