Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, is to travel from the Vatican to Tbilisi to attend the funeral of Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II.

This information is being reported by the Catholic referring to the Vatican Embassy.

According to the Embassy, the Cardinal will be accompanied by the following delegation: Monsignor Jaromír Ladrapa, an official of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity; Archbishop Ante Jozić, Apostolic Nuncio and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in Georgia; Monsignor Alexander Rahinia, adviser to the Papal Legate in Georgia; Bishop Giuseppe Pasotto, Apostolic Administrator for Latin Catholics in the Caucasus; and Monsignor Gevork Noradounghian, Ordinary for Armenian Catholics in Eastern Europe, based in Yerevan.

As for Cardinal Koch himself, Catholic notes that his first visit to Georgia took place in late 2014, when he met with Zaza Vashakmadze, Chairman of the State Agency for Religious Affairs, to discuss several matters of significance concerning the Catholic Church, among them the question of funding for religious denominations and the construction of a Catholic church in Rustavi. His second visit to Georgia followed in 2016.

It was Cardinal Koch who greeted the choir of the Holy Trinity Cathedral when they performed a concert in the Sistine Chapel on June 26, 2022.
Catholic also recalls that on October 26, 2016, in an interview with the German-language publication Tagespost, Cardinal Koch spoke warmly of the Catholicos-Patriarch, describing him as a man of great openness and warmth.

“Despite his advanced years, he came to the airport in person to meet Pope Francis, welcomed him, and saw him off at the end. There were two very beautiful encounters between them, during which Patriarch Ilia gave his blessing to the Church of Rome. Some Metropolises would never do such a thing, as they do not regard the Church of Rome as a ‘Church’ at all. When I was in Georgia two years ago, I also addressed these challenges. I met with Georgian Catholics and heard their concerns, particularly regarding forced rebaptism. This is an extremely serious matter, and the discussion must continue,” the Cardinal said.