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Pope Francis on Thursday blessed the bronze statue of Saint Gregory of Narek, an Armenian monk, theologian and poet of the 10th century, in the Vatican.

In the company of outgoing Armenian President, Serzh Sargsyan, and with the participation of two Patriarchs of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and the Patriarch of the Armenian Catholic Church, Pope Francis presided over the inauguration and blessing of the statue of St. Gregory of Narek in the Vatican Gardens, the Vatican Radio reported.

At the end of the blessing ceremony Pope Francis bowed before the St. Gregory of Narek statue, according to ARMENPRESS news agency.

The inauguration comes three years after the Pope proclaimed the Armenian saint a Doctor of the Universal Church during a mass in St. Peter's Basilica dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

The statue symbolizes the high level of relations between the Catholic and Armenian Apostolic Churches that were further strengthened by the Pope’s visit to Armenia in 2016.

The story of erecting a state of the Armenian saint goes back to that visit, when President Serzh Sargsyan presented Pope Francis a bronze statuette of St. Gregory of Narek as a symbolic meaning for the visit of Pope Francis to the first Christian nation. While presenting the souvenir, President Sargsyan wished to see the original statue in Vatican in the future that was approved by the Pope.

The statue, designed by David Yerevantsi, was melted in the Czech Republic under the joint sponsorship of Armenia’s Ambassador to the Holy Sea Mikayel Minasyan and Artur Janibekyan, Director of Gazprom Media Holding.

St. Gregory of Narek is recognized as a Saint in both the Catholic Church, being venerated in a particular way among Catholics of the Armenian Rite, and in the Armenian Apostolic Church.

His legacy lives on through this ecumenical effort which is centered on him. In an interview with Vatican News, Ambassador Mikayel Minasyan, described St. Gregory of Narek as a symbol of brotherhood and a bridge between the two Churches and for all Christians, “above all those of the Middle East”.

His most known literary work is a book of prayers, known as the “Book of Lamentations”. It is considered a masterpiece of Armenian literature. St Gregory himself defined the work as an “encyclopedia of prayer for all nations”. He hoped that his book would provide guidance in prayer for people of all walks of life in order to reach God.