Saint Charbel Church & Statue

Saint Charbel Church & Statue crowns a hilltop above Faraya beside a cross erected in 1951. The shrine is home to one of the world's largest statues of Saint Charbel, the beloved Lebanese Maronite hermit. Standing about 23 meters tall and weighing 40 tons, the fiberglass monument was sculpted by Nayef Alwan and inaugurated by Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi on September 14, 2017, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. A relic of Saint Charbel from the Monastery of Saint Maron in Annaya was placed inside the statue as a reliquary. The monument was offered in thanksgiving after the recovery of Michel Salamé from a coma following meningitis, a healing his family attributed to Saint Charbel's intercession alongside medical treatment. Today, the shrine attracts pilgrims throughout the year and offers sweeping panoramic views of the surrounding mountains.