The sanctuary of Our Lady of Mantara has its origins
in the Holy Gospels. We read in Mark ch. 7, v. 24,
that after leaving Genesareth in Palestine Christ
went to the region of Tyre and Sidon (now called Saïda)
to preach the Good News and to heal the sick. It was
at Sidon that he cured the daughter of the Canaanite
women possessed of a devil: “Woman, your faith
is great.” For his part, Saint Luke says in
ch. 6. v. 17 that after having chosen his twelve apostles
Jesus “came down with them and stopped at a
piece of level ground where there was a large gathering
of his disciples with a great crowd of people from
all parts of Judaea and from Jerusalem and from the
coastal regions of Tyre and Sidon who had come to
hear him and to be cured of their diseases.”
According to holy tradition the Holy Virgin accompanied
her son when he journeyed to Tyre and to Sidon. However,
as we know, Jewish women were not allowed to go into
pagan cities. Therefore, as Sidon was a Canaanite
town and therefore pagan, Mary waited for her son
in this grotto at Magdousheh, for the Roman road which
ran from Jerusalem to the Lebanese coast passed by
this village. Here she waited in prayer and meditation,
from which comes the name Our Lady of the Wait –
al Mantara.
Subsequently the early Christians transformed this
grotto into a shrine where they came to honour the
Virgin and ask for her graces. As a result of the
troubled times this region frequently went through
in its history, the site was sometimes forgotten;
but thanks to a lucky chance it was rediscovered in
1721 during the time of Monsignor Eftemios Saïfi,Melkite
Catholic bishop of Saïda, who had the grotto
restored. Since then it has been steadily visited
by families particularly on the occasion of the Feast
of the Nativity of the Virgin, 8th of September.
How the grotto was rediscovered
The following story is told. A shepherd chanced to
be one day near the grotto with his flock. Sitting
under an oak tree, he was playing on his flute. Suddenly
he heard one of his goats bleating in distress. He
ran in its direction and saw that it had fallen into
a well, through the opening now to be seen in the
roof of the cave just above the altar. He took his
knife and cleared away the undergrowth so that he
could pass. To his great joy he found a narrow path
that led down to the bottom of a cave into which he
crawled on hands and knees. He was further reassured
when he found an icon of the Virgin on an ancient
altar. He rushed out and, leaving his flock, ran off
to announce his discovery to the people of Magdousheh.
Crowds came rushing up to see for themselves this
cave which had been so long abandoned and to contemplate
the icon of the Virgin. The bells pealed out to proclaim
the event and processions were organized in the village.
So it was that worship returned to this sacred grotto.
Our Lady of Mantara, pray for us.
Mgr. Georges KWAITER
Greek Melkite Catholic Archbishop of the Diocese of
Saïda and of Deir el-Kamar
- Our Lady of Mantara or The Wait, Maghdouche: >>
View Movie <<
(2007-06-01)
- Lady
of Mantara or the Wait, Maghdouche, entrance:
>> View
Movie << (2011-03-15)
- Maghdouche
Cathedral - Saida Palestinian Refugee camp:
>> View
Movie << (2011-03-15)
