Statue of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa, Lebanon. This shrine, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is visited by many Maronite Catholics and by many Orthodox, but it is also visited by many Muslims of good will who have a devotion to the Blessed Mother. It could become a place from which a new vision for a peaceful and prosperous Lebanon could spring. The statue of Mary was brought from France and installed in 1908
Patriarch Elias Hoyek (1843-1931), commonly regarded as “the father of modern Lebanon.” He dreamed of a country where Christians, Muslims, and people of other faiths could live together in peace. That dream is now facing grave challenges. Christians have lived in Lebanon and the surrounding region since the mid-first century, when St. Peter was the first bishop of Antioch, before he went to Rome
Lebanese Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Raï, 81. He is the successor of Patriarch Hoyek at the head of the Lebanese Maronite Church. A courageous man, the patriarch has labored mightily to persuade the political leaders of Lebanon to set aside their differences and organize a government that works for the common good of all Lebanese. But his words have often fallen on deaf ears, now placing Lebanon itself in peril…