Today in Wheeling History: May 20—Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Church, spiritual home of Wheeling’s Lebanese community, is rededicated by Bishop John J. Swint after a devastating fire (1934).
Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Church on Eoff Street grew out of a Lebanese Maronite community that began forming in Wheeling in the late nineteenth century, as immigrants fled religious persecution and political upheaval in southern Lebanon and the wider Ottoman world. By 1906, the colony was large enough that Father Paul K. Abraham celebrated the first liturgy for the new parish, and in 1922 a substantial church was built on the present site to serve as both spiritual and cultural center for Maronite Catholics across the Northern Panhandle. On December 19, 1932, tragedy struck when the 1922 church was gutted by fire. Parishioners and firefighters later testified that a large 4-by-6-foot icon of Our Lady of Lebanon, then hanging above a side altar, survived unscathed—water streams reportedly parted around it, and the painting later fell some twenty‑five feet without damage. This event was embraced as a miracle and became central to parish identity. In the aftermath, parishioners organized the Mahrajan festival to raise rebuilding funds. The reconstructed church, incorporating the revered icon above the main altar, was solemnly rededicated by Bishop John J. Swint on May 20, 1934, reaffirming the parish’s resilience and its deep roots in Wheeling’s Catholic and immigrant history.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library – historical sketch of Our Lady of Lebanon Church (https://tinyurl.com/2hfvurt4), e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia – “Maronite Christians” (https://tinyurl.com/3a3bepzc), Facebook - Our Lady of Lebanon - Maronite Catholic Church (https://tinyurl.com/4mmkcrz3), The Intelligencer – “Story of the Miracle of Our Lady of Lebanon Church” (https://tinyurl.com/zctvu4c9)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; West Virginia & Regional History Center
Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Church on Eoff Street grew out of a Lebanese Maronite community that began forming in Wheeling in the late nineteenth century, as immigrants fled religious persecution and political upheaval in southern Lebanon and the wider Ottoman world. By 1906, the colony was large enough that Father Paul K. Abraham celebrated the first liturgy for the new parish, and in 1922 a substantial church was built on the present site to serve as both spiritual and cultural center for Maronite Catholics across the Northern Panhandle. On December 19, 1932, tragedy struck when the 1922 church was gutted by fire. Parishioners and firefighters later testified that a large 4-by-6-foot icon of Our Lady of Lebanon, then hanging above a side altar, survived unscathed—water streams reportedly parted around it, and the painting later fell some twenty‑five feet without damage. This event was embraced as a miracle and became central to parish identity. In the aftermath, parishioners organized the Mahrajan festival to raise rebuilding funds. The reconstructed church, incorporating the revered icon above the main altar, was solemnly rededicated by Bishop John J. Swint on May 20, 1934, reaffirming the parish’s resilience and its deep roots in Wheeling’s Catholic and immigrant history.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library – historical sketch of Our Lady of Lebanon Church (https://tinyurl.com/2hfvurt4), e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia – “Maronite Christians” (https://tinyurl.com/3a3bepzc), Facebook - Our Lady of Lebanon - Maronite Catholic Church (https://tinyurl.com/4mmkcrz3), The Intelligencer – “Story of the Miracle of Our Lady of Lebanon Church” (https://tinyurl.com/zctvu4c9)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; West Virginia & Regional History Center
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