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, the Armenian Public Radio reports.
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.
The statue will officially be unveiled on April 5.