Armenian Patriarch asks Leo XIV to call a Third Vatican Council

The Catolicos of Cilicia reportedly made the suggestion during his private meeting with Pope Leo, also requesting the setting of a common date for Easter.

VATICAN CITY (PerMariam) — Meeting Pope Leo XIV, the Armenian Catolicos of Cilicia requested the Roman Pontiff convene a Third Vatican Council as a matter of “significant importance.”

Early on the morning of May 18, Leo XIV hosted Aram I – the Armenian Catolicos (patriarch) of the Great House of Cilicia – in a private audience. The visit was part of a four-day visit by Aram I to the Holy See, with a number of meetings forming part of his schedule, including with the Holy See’s leading ecumenical and interreligious figures and the Secretary of State.

Pope Leo XIV & Catolicos Aram I of Cilicia. ©Vatican Media

According to details released by the Great House of Cilicia, Aram proposed a number of issues to Leo as being all matters of “significant importance.” These included:

• a unified date for Easter.

• a day commemorating all martyrs.

• the convening of a Third Vatican Council.

The Catolicos reportedly spoke to Leo about the “urgent necessity of these issues within the context of the universal Christian Church.” No mention of such issues was made during the official speeches delivered by Aram and Leo, nor in the Holy See’s brief summary of the meeting, thus it is to be presumed that such a conversation formed part of the private element of the pair’s encounter.

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