The Aouns in Rome for the canonization of Archbishop Ignatius Maloyan

President Joseph Aoun and his wife, Neemat, arrived in Rome on Saturday afternoon for the canonization of Archbishop Ignatius Maloyan, which will take place Sunday in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican during mass. The Armenian Catholic Archbishop of Mardin in Turkey, who was martyred during the Armenian Genocide of 1915, had pursued his studies in Mount Lebanon.

Upon their arrival in Rome, the presidential couple was welcomed by Armenian Catholic Patriarch Raphael Bedros XXI Minassian and by members of the Armenian Catholic community from around the world who came to attend the canonization ceremony. During the meeting, Patriarch Minassian presented Aoun with the "Cross of Faith," the highest distinction of the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate.

"Your presence, Mr. President, as well as that of the First Lady, is not just an official participation in an ecclesiastical celebration, but also an eloquent testimony that Lebanon remains a country of faith and that the roots of faith there are stronger than the storms that have shaken it," Patriarch Minassian said during the occasion, in quotes cited by the state-run National New Agency (NNA). The Armenian church in Lebanon is "as solid as the cedar," he added.

"I am at a loss for words on this occasion as we take part in the canonization of Bishop Maloyan, who is a saint for all humanity," Aoun said after receiving the distinction. "He believed in a cause and gave what was most precious to him, his life, to defend it. If he had not had unwavering faith, he would not have done so."

"Our ancestors dug rock with their bare hands and built monasteries because they believed in a cause. They spread religion, faith, and education, and I ask you, people of religion of all confessions, not to abandon the mission of education and not to let generations grow up without instruction, because it is the foundation of nation building, and especially for Lebanon."

Bishop Maloyan spent the early years of his priesthood in Lebanon, where he was sent to the Bzoummar Monastery in Kesrouan at the age of 14. He remained in this monastery for nearly 15 years, where he was a member of the Bzoummar Institute, before being appointed in 1897 as priest of the parish in Alexandria and Cairo.