African, Asian migrants make Marian pilgrimage up Lebanese mountain

Published: 2004-11-12

BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNS) -- Nearly 1,000 Africans and Asians -- many of them migrant workers -- spent a night climbing a mountain to pay homage to Our Lady of Harissa. They began in the coastal town of Jounieh and wound their way past the headquarters of the Maronite Catholic Church to the basilica, nearly 1,900 feet above sea level. Along the route, people emerged from buildings to watch in silence. Many observers made the sign of the cross. A Hindu from Sri Lanka organized the evening pilgrimage, working all day Oct. 30 to decorate the van on which a life-sized statue of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception was perched. "She is the mother of us all. We love her," he said.

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