Haryssa

Harisa is famous for the shrine of Virgin Mary and her large statue with outstretched arms. The statue rises over the coastal mountains facing the capital Beirut. In 1854, Pope Pios the ninth declared the concept of virgin birth. The Roman Church celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of this concept in 1904. Subsequently, his Beatitude Patriarch Elias Howaiek and his eminence Carlos Duval the Apostolic Delegate to Lebanon thought of establishing a religious site that substantiates the memory of consolidating the immaculate conception. Thus the idea of building a shrine at Harisa was born. After consulting a number of engineers among whom was the French “Jeo”, the choice was settled on a place in Harisa mountain called “The Rock”. It was a scenic hill close to Bkirki overlooking Jounieh bay and the Mediterranean with a view of Beirut and its mountains. The statue that was ordered from France was made of Bronze. It stood eight and a half meters high, five meters in diameter and weighed 15 tons. It had exquisite beauty. The statue was fixed on a base 20m. high, built of stone in the form of a cone with a circumference of 64 m. at base and 12 m. on top. A spiral staircase runs around the conical base making the statue accessible to visitors.