Ntra. Mrs. de Mantara, the Virgin of the Wait (Maghdouché)
Greek-Greek Catholic Sanctuary of the Sidon Archeparch, raised on a grotto where tradition places the Virgin Mary waiting for Jesus while preaching for the Tyre and Sidon region. The cave, sealed for centuries, was rediscovered on September 8, 1721 by a young shepherd, and since then is one of the great sites of the Marian pilgrimage of Lebanon.
🌹 Wonders and anecdotes
- The sacred grotto: tradition teaches that in it Mary rested waiting for her Son when she preached in Sidon.
- The rediscovery of 1721: a goat fell through an opening of the limestone and the pasture, as it descended, found in the dark the glow of a golden icon of the Mother with the Child.
- The tradition links the icon to St. Helena, who would have asked to consecrate a chapel in the cave and sent an icon of the Virgin with the Child.
- The modern tower crowned by a bronze statue of the Virgin with the Child dominates Sidon, the Mediterranean and the oranges of southern Lebanon.
Our Lady of Mantara
It is the great Marian sanctuary of southern Lebanon and meeting place for Christians and also for devout Muslims of Mary. Every 8 September crowds go up to Maghdouché to venerate the Grotto of the Wait.
"Our Lady of Mantara, who was able to wait for the Lord, teach us to wait for him with faith.
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