Lebanon: Reciting the Rosary on the Largest Rosary in the World
The largest five-decade rosary in the world, the Lebanon Rosary, is nearing completion in northern Lebanon, in Deir El Ahmar, about 30 kilometers from Syria. The structure is 600 meters long, with 59 concrete beads constructed as small chapels – 4.90 meters long and 3.50 meters wide – where worshipers can stop to pray.
Pilgrims cross each bead, while reciting the Rosary on a path that leads to a large cross. These 59 illuminated beads still need to be decorated. Eventually, the 600-meter loop will glow at night and be visible from the sky.
The land belongs to the Lebanese Maronite order which built a monastery there in 2006, and depends on the eparchy of Baalbeck-Deir El Ahmar. The rosary project has been announced for several years and the first swing of the pickaxe was made in 2008.
The city of Deir El Ahmar is home to 14 churches including those of Mar Youssef (St. Joseph), Saydet El Z'our and Mar Yohanna (St. John). Behind Deir El Ahmar is the sanctuary of Our Lady of Beshouat (Saydet Beshouat) which was for a long time a high place of pilgrimage where several miracles attributed to the Virgin Mary took place.
Today, the sanctuary comprises two churches: the old one with a statue of the Virgin and a stone indicating the location of the miracles, and the new church.
The word rosary comes from the Latin word ‘rosarium’ which designated the garland of roses with which the Virgin was crowned. Also called the full rosary, it is made up of fifteen dozen small beads on which we recite the Hail Mary, each ten being separated by a large bead on which we recite the Our Father.
A chaplet consists of five decades, so it takes three chaplets to make a full Rosary. It is recited while meditating on the Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries. The month of October is specially dedicated to the Rosary. The power of this Marian prayer is unlimited.
(Sources : cath.ch/rosaire du liban/DICI n°425 – FSSPX.Actualités)
Illustration : © Rosary of Lebanon
