Today, Sunday June 16th in Lebanon, the entire
Episcopate of Lebanon, along with their Papal Nuncio and with all the
Catholic Patriarchs of the Middle East will gather in Harissa, the National
Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon to solemnly Consecrate Lebanon and the Middle East to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Below is the Text of the Act of Consecration which will be prayed by all
present led by all the catholic Episcopate of Lebanon and all the catholic
Patriarchs of the Middle East following solemn Holy Mass. All the Patriarchs
of the Middle East will be present.
All of the Church in Lebanon has been preparing for this great spiritual
moment. An Image of Our Lady in the past 40 days has travelled to every
Parish in Lebanon. Every Parish in Lebanon will be united with the Mass and
Act of Consecration in a great union of prayer.
Please join too with this Act of Consecration on 16 June. If you are a
priest please lead your people in the prayer in your parishes after the
final blessing of the Mass. We all know that the situation in the Middle East is very, very dangerous. What we can do is to spiritually unite with perhaps the greatest act of faith in the powerful Intercession which has ever been carried out in the Middle East.
Merciful Jesus will act at the Intercession of his Holy Mother, the Blessed
Virgin Mary. He can refuse her nothing!
Below is the Text of the Act of Consecration which will be prayed by all
present led by all the catholic Episcopate of Lebanon and all the catholic
Patriarchs of the Middle East following solemn Holy Mass. All the Patriarchs
of the Middle East will be present.
All of the Church in Lebanon has been preparing for this great spiritual
moment. An Image of Our Lady in the past 40 days has travelled to every
Parish in Lebanon. Every Parish in Lebanon will be united with the Mass and
Act of Consecration in a great union of prayer.

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."