Charles Aznavour to Organize a Concert at Vatican

• 03.18.2015, 19:01
•  Europe,  World,  Armenia,  Diaspora

The legendary French Armenian chansonnier Charles Aznavour intends to organize a concert at Vatican in memory of the Armenian Genocide. It is expected that Charles Aznavour will be at the General Audience of Pope Francis and will discuss with him the organization of the concert.

According to RIA Novosti, sources close to Francis note that he is well aware of the works of Aznavour and listens to his songs. Charles Aznavour celebrated his 90th anniversary last year. According to the musical critics he is still in good vocal form, which allows him to give concerts and record new discs. Aznavour wrote more than 1000 songs, shot in more than sixty films, sold more than a million records.

Pope Francis will celebrate a Mass at Basilica of San Pietro on April 12 to commemorate the Armenian Genocide centennial. The Catholicos of All Armenians is expected to attend the Mass. This year Pope Francis declared Armenian poet and monk, Saint Gregory of Narek, a Doctor of the Universal Church. Until now this title has been awarded only to 36 saints.

Vatican recognized the Armenian Genocide in 2000. In 2013 during the meeting with the delegation of the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate of Cilicia Pope Francis said: "The first genocide of the 20th century was that of the Armenians," - thus reiterating his earlier recognition of the Armenian Genocide while he headed the Catholic Church in Buenos Aires as Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio. In 2006 during events marking the 91st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in Buenos Aires, then Archbishop of Buenos Aires Jorge Mario Bergoglio urged Turkey to recognize the Genocide as the "gravest crime of Ottoman Turkey against the Armenian people and the entire humanity."