In the midst of the wars and crises shaking Lebanon, an event will give a glimmer of hope and peace to the Lebanese people. Following the statue of Saint Maron which occupies one of the external niches, St. Peter's Basilica in Rome welcomed, on Friday morning, a mosaic depicting Saint Charbel on one of the walls surrounding the tomb of Pope Paul VI.

The sacred artwork was installed in the first basement of the basilica, on one of the walls surrounding the tomb of Pope Paul VI. It was created by Fabbrica (the Saint Peter's Factory), the specialized workshop attached to the Vatican, using 16th-century techniques. The mosaic was blessed last autumn by Pope Francis. This initiative was taken by the Lebanese ambassador Farid Elias El-Khazen, who followed all the necessary steps since 2017 to realize this project.

"The initial idea was to build a small church under the basilica, but there was no space so we moved to the idea of creating a mosaic dedicated to Saint Charbel," explained the Lebanese ambassador, Farid Elias El-Khazen, to the radio station La voix du Liban.

The ceremony was followed by a mass led by Monsignor Youhanna Warcha, the Maronite patriarch's delegate to the Holy See, in the presence of the prefect of the congregation for the Eastern Churches, Claudio Gugerotti, the superior of the Lebanese Maronite Order, Hadi Mahfouz, the archpriest of the basilica, Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, and the Lebanese ambassador to the Holy See, Farid Elias El-Khazen.

The bells of the churches rang throughout Lebanon on Friday morning at 10:30, simultaneously with the unveiling of the mosaic. Believers went to Annaya, where Saint Charbel's mausoleum is located, and to Bekaa Kafra, his birthplace, to offer prayers for Lebanon and to participate in the mass.

"The presence of Saint Charbel at the Vatican shows us that the Saint opens up to the entire world," noted Father Louis Matar, superior of the Saint Maron Monastery in Annaya, during an interview with Al-Jadeed channel.

It is worth recalling that the installation of this mosaic will evoke the memory of the inauguration ceremony of the altar dedicated to Saint Charbel inside Saint Patrick's Cathedral in New York in 2017.