SW News: October 28, which is observed by Armenian Catholics as the Feast of the Apostle St Jude Thaddeus, will have added significance this year. On that day, the cause of Cardinal-Patriarch Krikor Bedros Agagianian, one of the most illustrious prelates from that sui iuris Oriental Catholic Church.

The cause of canonization will be solemnly inaugurated at the Vicariate Palace in Rome. Cardinal Agagianian served as Prefect of the Congregation of Propaganda Fide, which later became the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, from 1960 to 1970. When the bishops of the Patriarchal Church of Cilicia of the Armenians assembled in Lebanon’s Patriarchal Monastery of Our Lady of Bzoummar from August 17 to 22, the news of the decision to open the cause of canonization was announced.

Under the auspices of Patriarch Raphael Bedros XXI Minassian, the Synod of Armenian Catholic Bishops had already started scouting for testimonies and other related materials to be included in the cause of Cardinal Agagianian.

The Synod also decided to rewrite the Cardinal’s biography. In 2020, the Vicariate of Rome issued an edict saying that it had authorized the initiation of the investigation into the life of Cardinal Agagianian for canonization upon the request of the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate. The candidate for sainthood died in Rome and was buried there. The Vicariate also ordered that materials related to the deceased Cardinal, including his writings, should be submitted for preliminary scrutiny before being submitted to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

Cardinal Agagianianwas born as Ghazaros Agagianian in Akhaltsikhe in what is now Georgia in September 1895. It was in November 1937 that he was elected Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenians. Pope Pius XII gave him the cardinal’s hat on February 18, 1946. He served as Prefect of the Propaganda Fide from July 18, 1960, to October 19, 1970. He played a decisive role in the decades before and after the Second Vatican Council. In 1962, he renounced the patriarchal title and on May 16, 1971, he passed away. His mortal remains were interred in the Church of San Nicola da Tolentino.

Armenian Christians believe that the seeds of faith were first sown in Armenia by Apostles Jude Thaddeus and Bartholomew. It was in 1742 that the Armenian Catholic Church was formally established by Pope Benedict XIV. Today, it counts more than 150,000 believers spread across the globe. The headquarters of the Church is the Cathedral of St Elias and St Gregory the Illuminator in the Lebanese capital of Beirut.