Editing Gregory the Illuminator (section)

=== Italy and the Catholic world ===
[[File:Gregory the Illuminator, of Armenia statue, St. Peter's Basilica, Rome, Vatican4.jpg|thumb|A statue of St. Gregory in Vatican's [[St. Peter's Basilica]] inaugurated in 2005. ]]

In the 8th century, the [[Iconoclasm|iconoclast]] decrees in Greece caused a number of religious orders to flee the [[Byzantine Empire]] and seek refuge elsewhere. [[San Gregorio Armeno]] in [[Naples]] was built in that century over the remains of a Roman temple dedicated to [[Ceres (mythology)|Ceres]], by a group of nuns escaping from the Byzantine Empire with the relics of Gregory,<ref name="Fortescue">[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07023a.htm Fortescue, Adrian. "Gregory the Illuminator." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 13 Aug. 2014]</ref> including his skull, arms, a femur bone, his staff, the leather straps used in his torture and the manacles that held the saint.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TksBAAAAQAAJ&q=chains+saint+gregory+illuminator+naples&pg=PA31 |title=Mysteries of the Neapolitan cloister |last1=Caracciolo |first1=Enrichetta |year=1865}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Hovhannes Tomajan and the Queen of Naples |journal=Hay Endanik |date=March–April 1987 |page=42-43 |publisher=Mekhitarist Order of San Lazzaro, Venice, Italy |url=https://www.stthomasarmenianchurch.com/religious-information/saints-feast-days/st-gregory-the-enlightener/ |access-date=2024-03-03 |archive-date=2018-03-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180312215928/https://www.stthomasarmenianchurch.com/religious-information/saints-feast-days/st-gregory-the-enlightener/ |url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref> The femur and manacles were returned by [[Pope John Paul II]] to Catholicos [[Karekin II]] and are now enshrined at [[Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral, Yerevan|Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral]] in [[Yerevan]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://asbarez.com/44044/relics-of-st-gregory-returned-to-etchmiadzin/ |title=Relics of St. Gregory Returned to Etchmiadzin |date=13 November 2000}}</ref>

On February 20, 1743, [[Nardò]], Italy was hit by a devastating earthquake that destroyed almost the entire city. The only structure to survive intact after the quake was the city's statue of St. Gregory the Illuminator. According to the city's registers, only 350 out of the city's 10,000 inhabitants died in the earthquake, leading the inhabitants to believe that St. Gregory saved the city. Every year, they mark the anniversary of the earthquake by holding three days of celebrations in his honor. Two relics of the saint are at [[Nardò Cathedral]]: one is kept in a silver bust of the saint,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gaballo |first1=Marcello |title=Un busto di San Gregorio armeno tra i tesori della cattedrale di Nardò |url=https://www.fondazioneterradotranto.it/2013/02/19/un-busto-di-san-gregorio-armeno-tra-i-tesori-della-cattedrale-di-nardo-2/ |website=Fondazione Terra D'Otranto |access-date=1 March 2024 |date=19 February 2013}}</ref> which is carried in processions, and the other, the metacarpus, is kept within a silver arm-shaped reliquary.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gaballo |first1=Marcello |title=20 febbraio. San Gregorio armeno l'Illuminatore, patrono di Nardò |url=https://www.fondazioneterradotranto.it/2013/02/20/20-febbraio-san-gregorio-armeno-lilluminatore-patrono-di-nardo-2/ |website=Fondazione Terra D'Otranto |access-date=1 March 2024 |date=20 February 2013}}</ref>

The feast day of Saint Gregory the Illuminator is on September 30 according to both the 2004 [[Roman Martyrology]] of the [[Ordinary Form]] and the 1956 Roman Martyrology<ref>{{cite book |title=The Roman martyrology, in which are to be found the eulogies of the saints and blessed approved by the Sacred Congregation of Rites up to 1961 |date=1962 |publisher=The Newman Press |pages=214 |url=https://archive.org/details/romanmartyrology0000cath/page/n5/mode/2up |access-date=2 March 2024}}</ref> of the [[Extraordinary Form]] of the [[Catholic Church]]; however, the 1962 [[Roman Missal]]<ref>{{cite book |title=Missale Romanum 1962 |pages=204 |url=https://media.musicasacra.com/pdf/missale62.pdf}}</ref> and its previous editions list the feast day of "Saint Gregory, Bishop of Greater Armenia and Martyr" on October 1.

A {{convert|5.7|m|abbr=on}} tall statue of Gregory in the [[Carrara marble]] was installed in the north courtyard of [[St. Peter's Basilica]] in [[Vatican City]] in January 2005. Sculpted by France-based Lebanese-Armenian sculptor Khatchik Kazandjian, the statue was inaugurated by [[Pope John Paul II]]. Gregory is depicted holding a cross in one hand and the Bible in the other.<ref>{{cite news |title=Vatican Unveils Monument of Saint Gregory the Illuminator |url=https://asbarez.com/vatican-unveils-monument-of-saint-gregory-the-illuminator/ |work=[[Asbarez]] |date=January 19, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207183756/https://asbarez.com/vatican-unveils-monument-of-saint-gregory-the-illuminator/ |archive-date=7 February 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Pope extends special greeting to Armenian Patriarch |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/2872/pope-extends-special-greeting-to-armenian-patriarch |agency=[[Catholic News Agency]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207185114/https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/2872/pope-extends-special-greeting-to-armenian-patriarch |archive-date=7 February 2023 |date=January 18, 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Monument To Grigor Enlightener To Be Erected |url=https://www.panarmenian.net/eng/politics/news/11920/ |agency=[[PanARMENIAN.Net]] |date=January 17, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208154741/https://www.panarmenian.net/eng/politics/news/11920/ |archive-date=8 February 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=St. Gregory Finds a Niche at a Vatican: Pope Blesses Statue of Apostle of Armenia |url=https://www.byzcath.org/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/2488/Re:_St._Gregory_Finds_a_Niche_ |agency=[[Zenit News Agency]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207185111/https://www.byzcath.org/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/2488/Re:_St._Gregory_Finds_a_Niche_ |archive-date=7 February 2023}}</ref> [[Pope Benedict XVI]] inaugurated the area as [[:File:Gregory the Illuminator, of Armenia courtyard, St. Peter's Basilica, Rome, Vatican.jpg|St. Gregory the Illuminator Courtyard]] in February 2008.<ref>{{cite web |title=Address of His Holiness Benedict XVI During the Inauguration of A Plaque of St Gregory the Illuminator in the North Courtyard of the Vatican Basilica |url=https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/speeches/2008/february/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20080222_san-gregorio.html |website=vatican.va |publisher=[[Libreria Editrice Vaticana]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207183752/https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/speeches/2008/february/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20080222_san-gregorio.html |archive-date=7 February 2023 |date=22 February 2008}}</ref>

Church of [[San Gregorio Armeno]] is a church and a monastery in [[Naples]], [[Italy]] named after the Gregory the Illuminator