On his final day of his stay in Armenia, the Pope will visit the Khor Virap monastery near the Turkish border where he will release doves in the direction of Mount Ararat. The monastery is revered as the site where St. Gregory the Illuminator, the founder of Christianity in Armenia, was imprisoned.
The monastery is revered as the site where St. Gregory the Illuminator, the founder of Christianity in Armenia, was imprisoned.
After a prayer in Armenian and Latin, Pope Francis and Catholicos of All Armenian Karekin II will head for the observation deck overlooking Mount Ararat. The religious leaders of the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Roman Catholic Church will release doves in the direction of the closed border between Armenia and Turkey as a sign of peace.
The Pope will later bid farewell to Armenia, the first Christian nation and will leave for Vatican after a farewell ceremony at Zvartnots Airport.