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Gregory of Narek statue installed in Vatican Gardens

A two-meter-tall statue of Gregory of Narek, a 10th-century Armenian priest, has been installed in the Vatican Gardens, Armenia’s Ambassador to the Holy See Mikayel Minasyan said in a Facebook post.

In 2016 Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan presented a small model of the statue to Pope Francis, as a symbol of the Pontiff’s “pilgrimage to the first Christian nation.”

President Sargsyan then voiced hope that a bigger statue would be installed in the Vatican in the future. Pope liked the statue and gave his consent, the Ambassador said.

“Soon afterwards a creative team headed by People’s Artist of Armenia, creator of St. Gregory’s statue David Yerevantsi started working on the project. Architect Mikael Hasratyan and project manager Vardan Karapetyan got involved in the work and my friend Artur Janibekyan, who is very devoted to promoting Narek worldwide, joined me as the second sponsor of the statue,” said Mikayel Minasyan.

The statue will officially be unveiled on April 5.

On February 23, 2015, Pope Francis declared St Gregory of Narek a Doctor of the Church, a title going to selected saints whose teaching and life have a special importance for the Catholic Church.

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