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Lowell mayor proclaims April 26 Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day as community holds 110th commemoration
Summary
Mayor Daniel P. Rourke read a city proclamation declaring April 26, 2025, Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day as members of the Armenian community and city officials gathered in Lowell to mark the 110th anniversary with speeches, music and prayer.
Mayor Daniel P. Rourke on Saturday read a City of Lowell proclamation declaring April 26, 2025, Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day as dozens gathered for a community commemoration organized by the Armenian National Committee of the Merrimack Valley.
The proclamation acknowledged the “unimaginable prosecution under the Ottoman Empire” that led to the deaths of 1,500,000 Armenians between 1915 and 1923 and recognized the Armenian American community’s contributions to Lowell. Rourke presented the proclamation to two student speakers who had performed and spoken during the event.
Speakers at the commemoration included Reverend Father Khachadur Kasab Leon, pastor of Saint Bartholomew’s Armenian Church, who led an opening prayer; Nishan Balian, an eighth-grade student and Armenian Youth Federation pianist who recounted the displacement and losses suffered by Armenians; and Talin Tokatlian O’Connor, a junior who urged preservation of Armenian language and culture across the diaspora. Balian said, “110 years ago, in a place roughly 5,000 miles away, 1,500,000 Armenians were uprooted from their homes and forced to abandon everything, including their lives, due to the actions of the Ottoman Empire.” Tokatlian O’Connor said, “It is in the darkest of times when the light of other human beings can shine the brightest,” and urged younger Armenians to keep the language and culture alive.
The event, hosted by the Armenian National Committee of the Merrimack Valley with support from local Armenian churches and organizations, included the American Armenian American Veterans of Lowell Honor Guard and youth representation from the Armenian Youth Federation. City Councilors Rita Mercier and Fresca and other municipal officials attended and offered remarks of support.
The program combined religious observance, music and personal testimony to mark the 110th anniversary of the genocide and to emphasize the local Armenian community’s history in Lowell. The organizer invited attendees to refreshments provided by the Lowell ARS chapter following the closing prayer.
