Vatican City, Feb 23, 2011 / 16:05 pm
The Maronite community of the world is celebrating the installation of the newest statue at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
Pope Benedict XVI blessed the 18-foot tall marble statue of St. Maron on the morning of Feb. 23. It was placed into the last open space of a series of large niches in the exterior wall of St. Peter's Basilica.
St. Maron established the first "Maronite" community based on a monastic spirituality in the 4th century. This year, the Church is celebrating the 1,600th anniversary of his death.
Despite hardship, the Maronite Church has remained intact and in communion with the Catholic Church and today has around three million members. Nearly one-third of these live in Lebanon.