Genocide isn’t history. It is a modern threat

CNEWA was born to save survivors of the Armenian genocide. A century later, its mission of humanitarian intervention is far from over

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Marking 100 years of humanitarian service is more than a milestone for the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA). It is a reminder of what happens when institutions choose to act while much of the world looks away.

Its legacy begins with one of the darkest chapters of the early 20th century. CNEWA, a Vatican-supported humanitarian agency working with Eastern Catholic churches and local partners in some of the world’s most vulnerable regions, was born out of the death marches, forced displacement and massacre of Christians following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the First World War. Historians estimate that between 1.5 million and three million Christians, including Armenians, Assyrians, Syriac Christians and Greeks, were killed.

On April 24, Armenians around the world commemorate this genocide in which so many of their ancestors perished. Historians note that Pope Pius XI founded CNEWA in 1926 to provide a sustained lifeline to its survivors.

“By the time CNEWA was officially established by Pope Pius XI (as an amalgamation of several Catholic charities working in support of Eastern churches at the time), the survivors, mostly women and children, were scattered across the Middle East in countries such as Lebanon and Syria, facing starvation, disease and the trauma associated with the loss of their homeland,” Armenuhi Mkhoyan, communications officer at Caritas Armenia, a CNEWA partner, said.

“The organization’s early work was a race against time to save the remnants of these ancient Christian civilizations.”

Under the leadership of Pope Benedict XV and later Pope Pius XI, the Vatican took active steps to oppose the genocide and support its survivors. Pope Benedict wrote directly to the Sultan of Turkey, appealing to him to stop the deportations and massacres, and later raised his voice against the “annihilation” of Armenians. In the 1920s, he and Pope Pius XI provided refuge to Armenian orphans in Italy.

A defining moment came when Pope Pius XI opened his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo to Armenian orphans. A house traditionally reserved for papal rest and reflection became a sanctuary for approximately 400 Armenian refugee girls who had survived the horrors of the genocide.

Mkhoyan said the Pope ensured they received not only the necessities of food, clothing and medical care, but also specialized education and a sense of family.

“Historical accounts describe the Pope visiting the children frequently and treating them with fatherly affection that restored a sense of dignity to their shattered lives,” she said.

That is the legacy CNEWA carries forward: not just charity but intervention when it matters.

Today, that same work continues in Armenia. In collaboration with Caritas Armenia, part of a global Catholic humanitarian network, CNEWA supports children and families facing difficult circumstances. Programs include the Little Prince Social Centre for Children, which supports about 75 children and their families in difficult situations, helping them remain in a family environment and avoid placement in residential institutions. Other initiatives provide warm winter clothing in the high-altitude Shirak region, where temperatures can plunge well below freezing, and expand access to higher education for students from low-income and vulnerable families.

The same pattern holds in Ukraine. Since the full-scale Russian invasion of Feb. 24, 2022, Ukrainians have endured constant power cuts, missile threats and economic hardship tied to displacement and lost livelihoods.

“Ukraine is no longer in the news headlines, but people there are still living with war from day to day,” said Anastasia Hrynuik, who runs the Ukraine program from CNEWA’s Ottawa office, part of CNEWA Canada’s work within the organization’s global network.

Working with partners including Caritas Ukraine, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the Ukrainian Catholic University, CNEWA provides both immediate aid and long-term support, including food and shelter for displaced families and care for hundreds of orphans at centres such as the Orphan Care Centre in Lviv.

In addition to Armenia and Ukraine, the organization operates in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, Ethiopia, Eritrea and India—regions where instability and hardship remain a daily reality.

The point is not that CNEWA has lasted 100 years. It is that the conditions that created it—war, displacement and global inaction—are still with us.

“CNEWA will be hosting some events to mark our 100th anniversary, but we have not yet finalized the details,” said Adriana Bara, national director of CNEWA Canada.

The anniversary matters because, a century on, the need for organizations willing to act has not gone away.

Susan Korah is Ottawa correspondent for The Catholic Register,  a Troy Media Editorial Content Provider Partner.