SW News: Bishops of the Armenian Catholic Church gathered in Rome on Monday, September 20, to elect a new patriarch. They are gathering for the second time to elect the successor of Patriarch Gregoire Pierre XX Ghabroyan who died in Beirut, Lebanon, on May 25. The first election in Beirut on June 22 ended in a fiasco.
As per the laws of the Church, the Bishops turned to Pope Francis for his help and guidance as no candidate received a two-thirds majority during the vote in Beirut. The Holy Father told the prelates to begin their electoral process on September 22, after spending two days in prayer and fasting.
Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for Oriental Churches, addressed the bishops during the celebration of the Divine Liturgy on September 20, encouraging them to invoke the assistance of the Holy Spirit as they prepare to sit for the upcoming election for the second time.
The Armenian Catholic Church is one of the 23 sui iuris Oriental Churches that are in full communion with Rome. According to the Annuario Pontificio, there were 757,000 Armenian Catholics across the world as of 2017. It was in 1742 that the Church was formally established by Pope Benedict XIV.