The Mariam Mother of Life Shrine was completed in 2004 by St. Ephrem Maronite Catholic Church, a local Lebanese parish. The giant Madonna statue stands atop a circular brick mound, featuring a grotto that houses the altar and a mural of Our Lady of Guadalupe. A ramp winds up the side of the mound, engraved Stations of the Cross (“The Mysteries”) spaced along the way.
Towering Mary, carved from Lebanese stone, holds a young Jesus, who gazes down upon us — on close inspection he’s more of a toddler than an infant. The sculpture is by a Lebanese artist, and the shrine is said to be in the tradition of Catholic shrines in Lebanon. At its base are many flowers and offerings.