Pope Francis paves way for canonization of Archbishop Ignatius Maloyan, martyred during the Armenian genocide
Pope Francis cleared the way for the canonization of Blessed Ignatius Maloyan. Born in 1869 in Mardin, in present-day Turkey, he was ordained a priest in 1883 in Lebanon.
He adopted the name Ignatius, and became known for his preaching in Arabic and Turkish, devoting himself to parish ministry and the study of sacred texts in Egypt.
In 1911, he was appointed Archbishop of Mardin during the Synod of Armenian Bishops in Rome.
According to the Vatican News, the news portal of the Holy See, “After Turkish forces entered the First World War, Archbishop Maloyan was arrested along with 13 priests and 600 other Christians.”
“Archbishop Maloyan and his companions were executed on June 3, 1915, when they refused to renounce the faith. He was beatified by Pope St. John Paul II on October 7, 2001,” it added.
