Pope Leo XIV has Armenian roots, says Turkish historian Nurhan Çetinkaya

Turkish historian Nurhan Çetinkaya has conducted research and found out that the new spiritual leader of the Catholic world, Pope Leo XIV, is of Armenian origin. According to Çetinkaya, the Pope comes from Kayseri and is a relative of his, Cumhuriyet Daily reports.

Çetinkaya shared this claim on his social media account. “His ancestors left Kayseri for the United States, received religious education there and then went to the Vatican. Today, he has become the Pope. He is our relative on my mother’s side. May this be a blessing for our world,” he said.

Çetinkaya noted that he is a Turkish citizen of Armenian descent. “I have been researching Ottoman and Armenian history for about five years now. I am researching and trying to find my roots. Between 1900 and 1915, many Armenians were either deported or disappeared from this land. My mother’s family comes from Kayseri (Everek), and my father’s side originates from Sivas (Gemerek).

My maternal grandmother’s brother, Setrak Parsehyan, emigrated from the Develi area of Kayseri (Everek) to Argentina in those years, in 1915. Later, I found out that his son is the current Pope Faruk Parsehyan, and according to the information I received, he is a priest. We learn that he belongs to the Catholic denomination and has achieved significant success in the Vatican. Of course, we cannot confirm this. We have not met yet. I believe he comes from Kayseri. When you look at the genealogical tree, you see that the grandson of Setrak’s son is him (Pope Leo XIV),” he said.