ar, سيدة لبنان , native_name_lang = , image = Ladylebanon.JPG , image_upright = , alt = , caption = Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon , map_type = , map_size = , map_alt = , map_relief = , map_caption = , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , religious_affiliation = , locale = , location =

Harissa Harissa ( ar, هريسة ''harīsa'', from Maghrebi Arabic) is a hot chili pepper paste, native to the Maghreb. The main ingredients are roasted red peppers, Baklouti peppers (), spices and herbs such as garlic paste, caraway seeds, coriander ...

, deity = , rite = , sect = , tradition = Queen and Patroness of Lebanon , festival = , cercle = , sector = , municipality = , district = , territory = , prefecture = , state = , province = , region = , country =

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...

, administration =

Congregation of Maronite Lebanese Missionaries , type = Religious institute , headquarters = Monastery of Saint John the Beloved, Jounieh, Lebanon , location = Jounieh, Lebanon , membership = 120 , leader_title = Superior General , lead ...

, consecration_year = , organisational_status = , functional_status = , heritage_designation = , ownership =

Maronite Church The Maronite Church is an Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic ''sui iuris'' particular church in full communion with the pope and the worldwide Catholic Church, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. Th ...

, governing_body = , leadership = , bhattaraka = , patron = Our Lady of

Lebanese people The Lebanese people ( ar, الشعب اللبناني / ALA-LC: ', ) are the people inhabiting or originating from Lebanon. The term may also include those who had inhabited Mount Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon Mountains prior to the creatio ...

, religious_features_label =

Feast A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes i ...

, religious_features = 1st Sunday of May , architect = , architecture_type = , architecture_style =

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother ...

with outstretched hands, bronze crown , founded_by = , creator = , funded_by = , general_contractor = , established = , groundbreaking = , year_completed = 1904 , construction_cost = , date_demolished = , facade_direction = , capacity = , length = , width = , width_nave = , interior_area = , height_max = , dome_quantity = , dome_height_outer = , dome_height_inner = , dome_dia_outer = , dome_dia_inner = , minaret_quantity = , minaret_height = , spire_quantity = , spire_height = , site_area = , temple_quantity = , monument_quantity = , shrine_quantity = , inscriptions = , materials = , elevation_m = , elevation_footnotes = , nrhp = , designated = , added = , refnum = , footnotes = , website = The Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon (also known as Our Lady of Harissa, ar, سيدة لبنان, ''Sayyidat Lubnān''; french: Notre Dame du Liban) is a Marian shrine and a pilgrimage site in the village of

. The shrine belongs to the

Maronite Patriarchate The Maronite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch (in Latin: Patriarchatus Antiochenus Maronitarum) is the seat of the Patriarch of the Maronite Church. It is currently governed by the Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, OMM. The Maronite ...

who entrusted its administration to the

since its foundation in 1904 and also to the jesuit Lucien Cattin, according to Christian Taoutel (Lebanese historian from the Saint Joseph University). It is one of the most important shrines in the world honoring

Mary, Mother of Jesus Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

. The shrine is highlighted by a huge, 15-ton bronze statue. It is 8.5 m high, and has a diameter of five meters. The

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

stretches her hands towards Beirut. The Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon draws millions of faithful both Christians and Muslims from all over the world. The 50th jubilee in 1954 was also the hundredth anniversary of the establishment of the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

dogma Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Islam ...

of the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...

. During these celebrations, Pope

Pius XII Pius ( , ) Latin for "pious", is a masculine given name. Its feminine form is Pia. It may refer to: People Popes * Pope Pius (disambiguation) * Antipope Pius XIII (1918-2009), who led the breakaway True Catholic Church sect Given name * Pius ...

sent his representative, Cardinal Angelo Roncalli (later to become Pope

John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June ...

) to Lebanon. Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

visited Our Lady of Lebanon in 1997. The Congregation of Maronite Lebanese Missionaries, responsible for the administration, works at reinforcing relations among all local Churches, Christian communities and apostolic movements. The Lebanese

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ� ...

as well as the

Druze The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...

and

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

have a special devotion to Mary, Mother of Jesus. The

Maronite Patriarch of Antioch This is a list of the Maronite patriarchs of Antioch and all the East, the Primate (bishop), primate of the Maronite Church, one of the Eastern Catholic Churches. Starting with Paul Peter Massad in 1854, after becoming patriarch of the Maronite Ca ...

named her the "Queen of Lebanon" in 1908 upon completion of the shrine. Overlooking the bay of

Jounieh Jounieh ( ar, جونيه, or ''Juniya'', ) is a coastal city in Keserwan District, about north of Beirut, Lebanon. Since 2017, it has been the capital of Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate. Jounieh is known for its seaside resorts and bustling nightli ...

, the shrine has become a major tourist attraction where tourists take the

gondola lift A gondola lift is a means of cable transport and type of aerial lift which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel wire rope that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate ...

, the '' Téléphérique'', from the city of

History

The Statue of Our Lady of Lebanon is a French-made, 13-ton statue, made of bronze and painted white, of the

. It was erected in 1907 on top of a hill, 650 meters above sea level, in the village of Harissa, 20 km north of

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

in honor of Our Lady of Lebanon. The land was donated by Yousef

Khazen Khazen (also El-Khazen, Al-Khazen, Khazin or De Khazen, ar, آل الخازن, is a prominent Levantine family and clan based in Keserwan District, Lebanon, Damascus, Syria, Nablus, Palestine, as well as other districts around the Levant, predomi ...

. It was made up of seven sections that were assembled on top of the stone base, which had a bottom perimeter of 64m, an upper perimeter of 12m and with an overall height of 20m. The height of the statue is 8.50m while its diameter is 5.50m. The statue and the shrine were inaugurated in 1908, and it has become a major pilgrimage destination.

Papal Visit

Pope

visited the shrine when he made an official visit to

on May 10, 1997. He conducted a mass in the modern

Basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its nam ...

. On December 8, 1998, the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

announced that the World Day of the Sick would be celebrated on February 11, 1999, at Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa.VII World Day of the Sick, 1999
/ref> Pope John Paul II prayed that Our Lady of Lebanon who had watched over the agonizing suffering of the Lebanese people could help all those who were suffering in the world. Pope

Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereig ...

launched an appeal for peace in Lebanon and Gaza by invoking the protection of Our Lady of Lebanon on January 28, 2007. He said, "To Christians in Lebanon, I repeat the exhortation to be promoters of real dialogue between the various communities, and upon everyone I invoke the protection of Our Lady of Lebanon." The

Apostolic Nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international ...

to Lebanon as well as the residences of four

Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of ...

patriarchs reside in the vicinity of the shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon.Profile

Image gallery

File:Our Lady of Lebanon church, Harissa, Jounieh, Lebanon.jpg, Our Lady of Lebanon captured from above, by Mikhael Bitar File:Our Lady Of Lebanon Harissa.jpg, The chapel is surmounted by the statue of Our Lady of Lebanon File:Harissa Cathedral From Bat'ha.jpg, Harissa Cathedral From Bat'ha File:Harissa at night (4012881822).jpg, Shrine at night File:Harissa Sanctuaire Notre-Dame du Liban 04.jpg, Entrance of Sanctuary Our Lady of Lebanon File:Harissa Sanctuaire Notre-Dame du Liban 03.jpg File:Harissa Sanctuaire Notre-Dame du Liban 05.jpg File:Harissa Sanctuaire Notre-Dame du Liban 01.jpg File:Harissa Sanctuaire Notre-Dame du Liban 02.jpg

Churches, schools, and shrines dedicated to Our Lady of Lebanon

Argentina

*Instituto Nuestra Señora del Libano, San Martin, Mendoza,

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

*Parroquia Nuestra Señora del Libano,

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, Argentina

Australia

*Our Lady Of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

VIC *Our Lady Of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church,

Harris Park Harris Park is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Harris Park is located 19 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Parramatta and is part o ...

, Sydney, NSW *Our Lady of Lebanon College, Harris Park, Sydney, NSW *Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church, West Wollongong NSW

Brazil

*Our Lady of Lebanon Melkite Church,

Fortaleza Fortaleza (, locally , Portuguese for ''Fortress'') is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. It belongs to the Metropolitan mesoregion of Fortaleza and microregion of Fortaleza. It is Brazil's 5th largest city and the t ...

*Our Lady of Lebanon Square, Visconde do Rio Branco, Minas Gerais *Our Lady Of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church,

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte (, ; ) is the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population around 2.7 million and with a metropolitan area of 6 million people. It is the 13th-largest city in South America and the 18th-largest in the Americas. The metropol ...

, MG * Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral, São Paulo, SP *Our Lady of Lebanon Parish,

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the twelfth most populous city in the country and the center of Brazil's fif ...

, RS *Our Lady of Lebanon Church,

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, RJ

Canada

*Our Lady Of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church, Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

*Our Lady Of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church,

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

*Our Lady Of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church and Shrine,

Leamington, Ontario Leamington ( ) is a municipality in Essex County, Ontario, Canada. With a population of 27,595 in the Canada 2016 Census, it forms the second largest urban centre in Windsor-Essex County after Windsor, Ontario. It includes Point Pelee National ...

Colombia

* * Our Lady of Lebanon Procathedral, Bogotá, (') a.k.a. Church of Santa Clara de Assís

France

* Notre Dame du Liban,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, seat of the

Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Paris Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Notre-Dame du Liban de Paris (in Latin: Eparchia Dominae Nostrae Libanensis Parisiensis Maronitarum) is a Maronite Catholic diocese. It was erected on 21 July 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI who appointed Eparch Nasser Ge ...

Mexico

* Our Lady of Valvanera Cathedral, Mexico City, seat of the Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of the Martyrs of Lebanon in Mexico

South Africa

* Shrine of Our Lady of the Cedars of Lebanon, Woodmead,

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...

*The Maronite Catholic Church, Mulbarton, Johannesburg

United Kingdom

*Our Lady of Lebanon Parish –

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

United States

California

*Mariam Mother of Life Shrine (replica of Our Lady of Lebanon) at St. Ephrem's Maronite Catholic Church – El Cajon, California *Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon – Los Angeles, California *Our Lady of Mount Lebanon – Los Angeles, California *Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Antiochene Catholic Church – Millbrae, California

Connecticut

*Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church, Waterbury, Connecticut

District of Columbia

*Our Lady of Lebanon Chapel,

Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is a large minor Catholic basilica and national shrine in the United States in Washington, D.C., located at 400 Michigan Avenue Northeast, adjacent to Catholic University. ...

, Washington, D.C. *Our Lady of Lebanon Parish, Washington, D.C. *Our Lady of Lebanon Seminary, Washington, D.C.

Florida

*Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church, Miami, Florida

Illinois

*Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church, Lombard, Illinois

Massachusetts

*Our Lady of the Cedars of Lebanon, Boston, Massachusetts

Michigan

*Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church, Flint, Michigan

Missouri

*Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon, Saint Louis, Missouri

New York

Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Cathedral (Brooklyn) Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral is a Maronite Catholic cathedral located in Brooklyn, New York, United States. It is the seat of the Eparchy of St. Maron of Brooklyn. It is located in the neighborhood of Brooklyn Heights in the oldest northwest sec ...

*Our Lady of Lebanon Parish (1914 Maronite; 1934 Roman),

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the U.S. state, state ...

, New York

Ohio

*Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Mission, Columbus, Ohio * Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon (North Jackson, Ohio)

Oklahoma

*Our Lady of Lebanon Catholic Church, Norman, Oklahoma

Pennsylvania

*Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church, Easton, Pennsylvania

Texas

*Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church, Austin, Texas *Our Lady of the Cedars Maronite Catholic Church, Houston, Texas *Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church, Lewisville, Texas

West Virginia

*Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church, Wheeling, West Virginia

Uruguay

* Our Lady of Lebanon Parish Church,

Montevideo Montevideo () is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . Montevideo is situated on the southern co ...

References

External links

Our Lady of Lebanon – Harissa

Congregation of the Maronite Lebanese Missionaries

Pope's visit in Lebanon

Maronite Eparchy of Australia

Eparchy of Saint Maron – Canada (ESMC)
{{coord, 33, 58, 54, N, 35, 39, 05, E, source:hewiki_region:LB_type:landmark, display=title Shrines to the Virgin Mary Eastern Catholic shrines Titles of Mary Catholic devotions Melkite Greek Catholic Church in Lebanon Maronite Church in Lebanon Maronite church buildings in Lebanon Roman Catholic shrines in Lebanon Sufi shrines Shia shrines Tourist attractions in Lebanon