Make your gift today!
Help keep Catholics around the world educated and informed.
Already donated? Log in to stop seeing these donation pop-ups.
Pope pays tribute to late Georgian Orthodox Patriarch
March 23, 2026
» Continue to this story on Vatican Press Office
CWN Editor's Note: Pope Leo XIV paid tribute to Georgian Orthodox Patriarch Ilia II, who died on March 17 at the age of 93.
“Throughout his long life, Patriarch Ilia II was a devoted witness to faith in the Risen Christ,” Pope Leo wrote in a message to His Eminence Shio (Mujiri), the Georgian Orthodox Church’s temporary leader. “His ministry accompanied the Georgian people through difficult times and profound epochal change, lovingly preserving tradition and opening hearts and communities to hope.”
“I would also recall his deep passion for music, which is a stimulus to the search for the beauty of God and can unite peoples, bringing Churches closer together beyond cultural and theological differences,” Pope Leo added in his message, dated March 18 and released by the Vatican on March 23.
The above note supplements, highlights, or corrects details in the original source (link above). About CWN news coverage.
For all current news, visit our News home page.
All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a current donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!
