Pope Francis has told Armenians he is travelling to their country to promote closer bonds with their Orthodox church, honour their steadfast faith in the face of tragedy and support them in their efforts to build a peaceful future.
In a video message transmitted on Wednesday on Armenian television, the Pope said he admired the Armenian people but also shared their pain over the difficult moments of the country's history and its people.
In more than 1,700 years as an officially Christian nation, he said, "you have found in the cross of Christ and in your genius the strength always to rise again even from the sufferings that were among the most terrible that history recalls."
