Dear Spiritual Brothers and Sisters,

We offer thanksgiving to God, Who granted us the opportunity through the invitation of His Eminence Cardinal Barbarin, to stand in prayer with you in this �International Prayer for Peace� gathering organized by the initiative of the community of Saint Egidio, under the incense-filled arches of this sanctuary, with the mighty and merciful intercession of the Holy Mother of God. We have come from Armenia, the biblical land of Ararat, and we bring with us blessings from the first sanctuary built by the state in the first Christian country seventeen centuries ago � Holy Etchmiadzin. On behalf of the Armenian nation, we greet you and offer our prayers to heaven, asking that peace become a reality and bloom in all corners of the world, in the life of all men and people.

The paths of peace have often gone astray in the history of mankind, however peace has been and remains today the aspiration of all peoples and all faiths. For us Christians, to be peacemakers means to witness Christ. With the praising call of �Peace on earth and goodwill towards men�, the Son of God � our Savior and our Lord, came into the world and called upon men to love and be reconciled with one another, as testament to our love and reconciliation with God.

�Have peace, one to another� (Mark 9:50) is the message Christ gives to us. Loving God means making peace, creating peace. The mystery of a reconciled soul with God is peace among men, and its fruit is the love of life and work done for the sake of mankind. If we have faith in God, then we also have a responsibility to be peacemakers, by teaching, doing righteous works, defending rights, and by choosing the good. Within peace is the blessing of God, within peace is the hope for the future � the progress and happiness of life. On the path of peace, all works are great. This is our conviction and our teaching.

From the inception of the Meeting of Prayer of the Community of Saint Egidio, many realities have changed; specifically, new relationships between states are being shaped and developed, characterized by even closer cooperation. Nevertheless, today the world is troubled by inter-state, national and religious disputes. Present are many social, health, environmental and other issues. Today also there are the evils of poverty and lawlessness. Violence, bloodshed, terrorism and wars darken the life of societies. The need is felt for universal concern and universal efforts to improve our common home. Times have changed and will continue to change, the knowledge and possibilities of mankind will continue to grow, and the urgency will always be timely, that the most important and eminent factors be the societal comprehension sustained by the spiritual-moral source. The spiritual � as the vital unending strength and pure beginning of knowing God � will assist in the reparation of the life of mankind to its true nature, call and purpose. We are different peoples, different individuals, but we are all children of the one God, called to have peace, one to another. We all live in the house of the Lord, and we are not the ones that established life, however we are collaborators with the Creator, so that it blossoms and is filled with happiness and glory.

Finding the paths of peace is not easy, but always possible if we truly have the desire for peace, as a value and expression of true humanitarianism. Peace, freedom, justice and love go hand-in-hand and reinforce one another. Europe, which bears and testifies the Christian faith and culture, shall continue to be the guardian of those values of humanitarianism and human rights, for which it has struggled and sacrificed. With difficulty, through the constant efforts of the people of France as well, the standards of freedom and rights of men and nations were brought to life and recorded in the international legislative realm, so that they serve the common good of humanity and its hopes for a peaceful, creative life and new day.

The Armenian people as well, throughout the crossroads of its difficult history, never ceased hoping in the bright dawning of a century of peace, rights and justice; and this year raises prayers for peace on earth and the security of human life, commemorating the solemn 90th Anniversary of the Genocide of the Armenians which was implemented in Ottoman Turkey. Armenians living in many countries are the participants and witnesses to dialogue between cultures, and believe that through the will and efforts of men, the words of the prophet will come true, when nations will no longer learn warfare and will no more lift up sword against each other. (Isaiah 2:4)

From this holy sanctuary of our sister Catholic Church, where our hope in peace is strengthened, we extend our greetings of brotherly love to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI and the spiritual leaders of sister Churches and religious communities. May our prayers be combined, giving thanks and praise to the Most High and to ask with humility from His All-provident Strength:

Creator and sustainer of all that exists, listen to our plea, through which we appeal to You, first help those in want and danger, console the grieving and grant peace to regions suffering in conflicts and wars.