A celebration was held on March 22 in Buenos Aires for the 25 years of Episcopate of Archbishop Kissag Mouradian, Primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church for Argentina and Chile, reports.

Pope Francis, an of the Armenian Archbishop, sent him a letter for the occasion.

“Dear brother,” said the letter of the Pope. “On March 22 the Armenian community celebrate your 25 years of episcopate. From here I join this celebration and prayer of thanksgiving. May the Lord reward all the good you did and keep doing. I thank God for your ministry and pray that it remains fruitful. And please, I ask that you do not forget to pray for me.Please give my greetings to the beloved members of the Armenian community.”

The celebration was attended by national government authorities, representatives of other Armenian churches, representatives of the Armenian Embassy in Argentina and members of the Armenian community.

Alberto Djeredjian, member of the Administrative Institution of the Armenian Church, said that Mouradian is “the backbone of our community.” In turn, the Archbishop said: “I was sent to Argentina for five years, but after I fulfilled that period and having full mutual agreement, I decided to stay. I hope we continue to work together for the welfare of the Armenian Nation and the Armenian Church.”