Ground was broken Sunday, August 16, 1964 on an eighty acre site on North
Lipkey Road, about two miles north of Rt. l8 in North Jackson for the construction of a $200,000 replica of the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon at Harissa, Lebanon. This was to be the first Shrine of its type in the United States, and would be built of stone matching the original.

On July 20. 1965, the statue of the Virgin Mary was placed atop the tower. Just
when the statue was put into place, a large cloud overhead turned brilliant shades of pink, blue and other colors of the rainbow. The occurrence was taken as a sign by onlookers, that the Blessed Virgin was smiling on the project.

The dedication of the complete Shrine took place on Sunday, August 15, the Feast
of Our Lady of the Assumption. Auxiliary Bishop James Malone blessed the Shrine,
gave the homily at the Mass afterward, and spoke at the closing banquet at the ldora Park ballroom.

Lack of water for the rest rooms and drinking forced the committee to limit the
dedication to three hours. Three wells had been drilled on the property. One drew salt, another yielded only a meager water supply, and a third supplied only enough for the convent. Because of this water problem, the Shrine was not able to have any Pilgrimages that year.

A new temporary, glass-enclosed, pavilion chapel was in use for the first time for the holiday season of 1965. The uninsulated structure, blessed as a chapel, was glass-enclosed with three walls of windows having the conditions of bitter cold in winter and extreme heat in summer, which could make the votive candles liquefy. The sacristy was inside the main building and so having vested for services, the priest would go outside then enter the chapel in every kind of weather condition.

The second annual pilgrimage to the National Shrine was nearly cancelled in 1966
because of a threatening water shortage. The Isaly Dairy Co. donated its 3800-gallon stainless steel milk truck to be used as a water reservoir. The well water supply had an output of 6 gallons a minute, which was not adequate. The former Lordstown Government artery water line was to be made available to the Shrine, by the City of Niles, in the fall of 1966. In 1980 the water project was finally completed thanks to Lordstown Township and Father Ashkar of St Maroun's administration abilities. His Excellency Bishop Francis M. Zayek's first visit to the National Shrine was at this second annual Pilgrimage on the 9th of March.

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