Our Lady of Lebanon

Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon
مزار سيدة لبنان
Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon
Religion
Ownership	Maronite Church
Patron	Our Lady of Lebanon Lebanon Lebanese people
Feast	1st Sunday of May
Location
Location	Harissa
Country	Lebanon
Administration	Congregation of Maronite Lebanese Missionaries
Architecture
Style	Blessed Virgin Mary with outstretched hands, bronze crown
Creator	33°58′54″N 35°39′5″E / 33.98167°N 35.65139°E / 33.98167; 35.65139
Completed	1904

Our Lady of Lebanon
Queen and Patroness of Lebanon
Venerated in	Latin Catholicism Eastern Catholicism Maronite Church Melkite Greek Church
Major shrine	Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon, Harissa, Lebanon
Feast	1st Sunday of May
Attributes	Blessed Virgin Mary with outstretched hands, bronze crown
Patronage	Lebanon and Lebanese people

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Maronite Church
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Patriarchate
Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rahi
Religious orders and societies
Antonin Maronite Order Congregation of the Lebanese Maronite Missionaries Lebanese Maronite Order Mariamite Maronite Order Maronite Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Communities
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Languages
Historical, theological, and liturgical: Aramaic Syriac Vernacular French English Arabic Portuguese Spanish
History
Maron Monastery of Saint Maron John Maron Mardaites County of Tripoli Ottoman rule 1860 conflict Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate Our Lady of Lebanon 1958 Lebanon crisis Greater Lebanon Lebanon Bkerké Lebanese Civil War South Lebanon conflict Taif Agreement
Related politics
National Pact Lebanese politics Lebanese nationalism Phoenicianism Kataeb Party National Liberal Party Marada Movement Lebanese Forces Free Patriotic Movement
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The Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon (also known as Our Lady of Harissa, Arabic: سيدة لبنان, Sayyidat Lubnān) is a Marian shrine and a pilgrimage site in the village of Harissa in Lebanon.^[1]

The shrine belongs to the Maronite Patriarchate who entrusted its administration to the Congregation of Maronite Lebanese Missionaries since its foundation in 1904 and also to the jesuit Lucien Cattin,^[2] 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. 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 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 dogma of the Immaculate Conception. During these celebrations, Pope Pius XII sent his representative, Cardinal Angelo Roncalli (later to become Pope John XXIII) to Lebanon. Pope John Paul II 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 as well as the Druze and Muslims have a special devotion to Mary, Mother of Jesus. The Maronite Patriarch of Antioch named her the "Queen of Lebanon" in 1908 upon completion of the shrine.^[3] Overlooking the bay of Jounieh, the shrine has become a major tourist attraction where tourists take the gondola lift, the Téléphérique, from the city of Jounieh to Harissa.