The Vatican monument to Gregory the Illuminator is a magnificent marble sculpture 5.7 meters high and weighing more than 26 tons. The author of this sculpture is Armenian-French sculptor Khachik Gazanchyan.
The statue was opened and consecrated by Pope John Paul II on January 19, 2005. The Armenian Catholic Patriarch of Cilicia Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni also participated in the opening ceremony of the statue of Gregory the Illuminator.
The establishment of the monument was dedicated to the 1700th anniversary of the adoption of Christianity in Armenia. The sculpture is located in one of the external niches of St. Peter’s Basilica in the northern courtyard of the Vatican.
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