Assiut is Now Home to the Largest Statue of the Virgin Mary in Egypt

In celebration of the yearly Fast of the Virgin Mary, the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral of Archangel Mikhail in Assiut installed a 10-tonne 9-metre-tall statue of the Virgin Mary on a 15-metre-high pedestal in the neighbouring town of Dronka. The statue is the largest of the Virgin Mary in Egypt.

Upon visiting Lebanon’s ‘Harissa’ statue, otherwise known as ‘Our Lady of Lebanon’, and feeling enamoured by her grace, Bishop Anba Yu’annis of the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral of Archangel Michael felt it necessary to have a statue of similar stature in Egypt. Egyptian sculptor Gerges al-Gawli was then contacted to sculpt the statue out of foam ahead of its bronze moulding at a Cairo foundry run by the Iraqi Annas al-Alussy.

The statue’s timely arrival welcomed flocks of pilgrims who travelled to the convent for the celebration of the 15-day fast.