The head of the Maronite Church consecrated Lebanon and the whole of the Middle East to the Immaculate Heart of Mary during a pilgrimage to Fatima on Sunday.
The solemn act of consecration, by Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai, patriarch of Antioch, was to mark the culmination of “Lebanon Day” at the shrine, which began with a candlelit procession and the recitation of the rosary.
In his homily, the the cardinal said: “We have come from Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, the Holy Land, Egypt, the Gulf countries and various countries of proliferation – particularly from Australia, Canada, the United States, Europe – to continue, from generation to generation, to honour our Blessed Virgin Mary.”
