Conversion has been a profound sign of the Armenian people.

This morning in the Vatican, Benedict XVI dedicated a new name plate in honor of St. Gregory the Illuminator in the so-called "Courtyard" of St. Peter's Basilica, which will now be called, "The Courtyard of St. Gregory the Illuminator." With the Pope were the Catolicos Patriarch of the Catholic Armenians of Cilicia, Nerses Bedros XIX, and representatives of the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Armenian Evangelical Church. During the inauguration, the Holy Father remarked, "This great saint, more than 18 centuries ago, made the Armenians a Christian people. In fact, they were the first people to be officially Christian." After stating that this conversion made a profound mark on the Armenian people, Benedict mentioned that a few months before dying, John Paul II blessed the statue of St. Gregory the Illuminator that stands in the courtyard now dedicated to the great evangelist of the Armenians.