SW News: Commemorating 30 years of diplomatic ties between the Vatican and Armenia, Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra, who is the Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of the Holy See, is on a visit to the Armenian capital Yerevan. On Wednesday, October 27, the prelate paid tribute to the victims of the Armenian Genocide at the memorial dedicated to all who lost their lives in the pogrom.

Earlier in the day, Archbishop Parra held talks with Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan. The prelate also blessed the new office of the Apostolic Nunciature in the capital in the presence of Church officials and other government dignitaries. It will function as an annexe of the Nunciature that is located in Tbilisi, the capital of neighboring Georgia. The opening of the new office is part of arrangements to facilitate the several commitments of the mission in Armenia

It was on May 24, 1992, that diplomatic ties between Armenia and the Vatican were established following the apostolic letter ‘Armeniam Nationem’ of Pope St John Paul II. The Holy See was able to establish a Nunciature only after the fall of the Soviet Union and the independence of Armenia.

Archbishop Parra will also hold meetings with President Armen Sarkissian, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church Supreme Patriarch Karekin II.