The statue of the late American evangelist, Billy Graham, has been unveiled in the U.S. Capitol building in Washington.
The United States Capitol building is the seat of the country’s congress, the legislative arm of the federal government. It is located on Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall.
The seven-foot statue of the renown cleric depicts the popular evangelist, who died in 2018 at 99, looking forward as he holds a copy of the Holy Bible and invites listeners to the gospel.
Installed in the Crypt one level below the Rotunda, where public tours of the Capitol begin, the statue is part of the National Statuary Hall Collection.
It was sculpted by Chas Fagan and its base includes the text of two verses – John 3:16 and John 14:6.
Several people delivered speeches at the private ceremony attended by hundreds including state congressional delegation.
Graham’s son, Franklin, who now heads the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) floated by his father, said, “My father would be a little uncomfortable with this being here. Because he would want the focus to be on the One whom he preached – the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”
He however said his “earthly father will be here in this Capitol pointing to the future generations to our Heavenly father and his son, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, who expressed admiration for Graham’s ministry, said “Millions of people will walk by and read John 14:6 and John 3:16. What a story to tell as we bring school kids through and university students and constituents, they’ll stop right here. And at the base of the foundation those two verses will be shared broadly. I think it’s the perfect placement.”
He remembered Graham as “the leading ambassador for the kingdom of our lifetimes. This is truly a historic moment.”
He said “there are only four people in the history of our country who have received the three highest honours here. Those three honours are Congressional Gold Medal, having lied in state upon their passing and having a statue here in the Capital to be honoured.”
Johnson listed them as Late Presidents Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan and civil rights activist Rosa Parks as the other recipients of all three honours.
The speaker also talked about the details of the statue, saying “In this left hand he holds an open Bible. And with right hand, he’s inviting all those to read. It’s open to Galatians 6:14.”
Senator Ted Budd, a Republican, said, “Let us never forget the Bible that he preached, the souls that were saved, and the lives that were transformed. More people have heard the Good News of Jesus from Billy Graham than any man in our history.”
On his part, North Carolina governor, Roy Cooper, a Democrat, said “He (Graham) believed, as many of us do, that there is redemption. And he gave his life delivering that message.”
Cooper stated further, “Our state has given this nation its first flight, its first public university, its rich farmland. Today, North Carolina gives the nation a symbol representing one of our dearest treasures, the Rev. Billy Graham: a man of faith, a man of North Carolina.
“The Rev. Graham was known as a minister to millions, the pastor to presidents, a selfless man of God who lived out his calling by preaching and teaching across the world, always returning to his beloved home in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina for respot. He brought together people of different faiths and different races.
“Today, we acknowledge that he is a better representation of our state than the statue it replaces, which brought memories of a painful history of racism. Not that Rev. Graham was perfect, he would have been the first to tell us that. Instead, he realised that he and all of us here today have feet of clay. We are imperfect.”
Michael W. Smith, a Christian musician and Grammy award winner, performed the song, “I Surrender All.”
The man Billy Graham
Graham died on February 21, 2018 at the age of 99.
He was an evangelist for over 60 years.
He was the president of the North Carolina-based BGEA before he passed.
During his ministry, Graham preached the gospel to over 200 million people in 185 countries and territories.
He organised his last crusade from June 24 to 26, 2005 in New York.
Since his death, his son, Franklin Graham, has been running the BGEA.
Graham, during his lifetime, was associated with several sitting American presidents, some of whom he visited at the White House while others visited him.
The presidents include Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump.
He made his first visit to the White House on July 14, 1950.
The revered clergyman provided some of them spiritual counsel. He participated in four swearing-in ceremonies.
Both Johnson and Nixon reportedly offered Graham high positions in government but he politely declined the offers.