The shrine of Harissa, overlooking 600 meters of coastline, 25 km from the capital Beirut, is dear to the heart of every Lebanese; whether Christian or Muslim, all address Mary as their mother. Not surprisingly, the small town of Harissa has become a focal point of the Christian East. From Bethlehem did Christ emerge; From Lourdes the miracles poured forth; and over the hill of Harissa, the Queen of heavens rose like the Cedar of Lebanon.On the first of May, 1908, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the proclamation of the Immaculate Conception of Pope Pius IX, Maronite Patriarch Elias Hoayek inaugurated the Shrine of the Virgin in Harissa, and declared that day the solemnity of Our Lady of Lebanon.Since the inauguration of the shrine, believers were drawn to it from Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, and Egypt, as well as European and American countries. The name "Our Lady of Lebanon" became known across the countries of the East and overseas. Wherever a Lebanese went forth, there too was Lebanon and “Our Lady of Lebanon”.In 1954, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the construction of the shrine, Cardinal Angelo Roncalli – later, Pope John XXIII – made a pilgrimage to the site as a representative of Pope Pius XII. In August of 1970, the Patriarch Boulos al Moouchi laid the cornerstone of the Basilica of Our Lady of Lebanon, and in 1990, events began being held in the new Basilica with a 4,000 seat capacity. In 1997, Pope John Paul II visited the Shrine of Harissa, and from there he urged young people to pray to the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Lebanon, to protect Lebanon and its people. Today, there are few villages in Lebanon that do not have a church named for the Virgin.  Honoring the Virgin Mary is rooted in the hearts of the Lebanese; paying homage to her they say: Lady of the mountains and the seas, and Queen and Symbol of our Lebanon, her purity is as the snow of Lebanon, her scent is like its flowers,  and she rises like the Cedar. John Paul II to young people at Our Lady's Basilica in Harissa in 1997:"Ask the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Lebanon, to watch over your country and its inhabitants, and to assist you with maternal care, to be worthy heirs of the saints of your land and to flourish in Lebanon, a country which is part of the holy places that God loves, because He came to make his home here and we remember that we must build the earthly city, with eyes fixed on the values of the heavenly Kingdom." 

The shrine of Harissa, overlooking 600 meters of coastline, 25 km from the capital Beirut, is dear to the heart of every Lebanese; whether Christian or Muslim, all address Mary as their mother. Not...leggi tutto