The idea of building the Shrine
The late Maronite Patriarch Elias HOYEK, Patriarch of Antioch and the Whole Orient and the apostolic delegate in Lebanon and Syria, the Archbishop Carlos DUVAL were the first to come up with the idea of building the Sanctuary of the Lady of Lebanon.

On 8 December 1854, the Pope Pius IX had established the dogma of the Immaculate Conception and had announced it through his infallible apostolic authority. The Catholic World in particular was Shaken by this great event which filled every heart with happiness, joy, and tranquillity. Fifty years after this event, that is in 1904, the ecumenical Church Celebrated the fiftieth anniversary for establishing this dogna. The late Patriarch HOYEK and the Apostolic Delegate the Archbishop Carlos DUVAL conferred upon the Lebanese people faith and enthusiasm for honoring our Mother the Virgin Mary. They thought of installing a religious monument that would perpetuate the memory of Confirmation of the Immaculate Conception and praise the love of the Lebanese for Mary throughout the generations.

more