FIRST ON FOX: A new statue of Billy Graham will be placed at the United States Capitol building next week, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association shared with Fox News Digital on Monday afternoon.
“It is a rare honor,” the organization said in materials shown to Fox News Digital.
The statue will be inaugurated on Thursday, May 16 in a ceremony that will begin at 11 a.m.
Charlotte-based artist Chas Fagan created the sculpture, the group said, which shows Graham pointing to an open Bible in his hand.
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“This is not just a statue of my father; it represents the One to whom he gave his life and the message he preached for over 80 years, that God loves us and sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to save us from our sins,” The Rev. Franklin Graham told Fox News Digital in comments shared via email Monday afternoon.
“What I appreciate most is that this is an opportunity for all future generations who see the statue to remember God's love, grace and forgiveness.”
Billy Graham spent more than 80 years preaching to more people in live audiences than any other person in history: nearly 215 million people on six continents, according to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. (Billy Graham Evangelistic Association)
The seven-foot-tall bronze statue is depicted atop a pedestal engraved with Bible verses that “highlight Graham's lifelong commitment to sharing the Gospel,” the association said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, as well as the Rev. Graham, son of Billy Graham and head of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan's Purse, are expected to make remarks at the ceremony next Thursday.
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A media spokesperson for President Johnson's office confirmed the event.
Three-time Grammy Award winner Michael W. Smith is also expected to perform.
“He would not want the attention on himself but on the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
“This is a great honor and my father would be honored and grateful,” Rev. Graham also said.
“At the same time, he would not want the focus to be on himself, but on the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Billy Graham died in 2018 at the age of 99.
Billy Graham provided spiritual counsel to 12 sitting American presidents and numerous world leaders. He preached to millions of people around the world. (Billy Graham Evangelistic Association)
He spent more than 80 years preaching to more people in live audiences than anyone else in history: nearly 215 million people on six continents, the organization said.
He provided spiritual counsel to 12 sitting U.S. presidents and many world leaders.
“The Rev. Billy Graham's legacy is built on his simple message of forgiveness based on John 3:16,” said Sen. Ted Budd, R.N.C., in comments shared with Fox News Digital by the association.
Billy Graham is one of the few private citizens to have received three of Congress's highest honors.
Budd was part of a bipartisan effort to place the statue in the Capitol.
“He was the first private citizen of North Carolina to lie in honor at the United States Capitol and his image should remain in the United States Capitol forever.”
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Each state can place two statues inside the Capitol, but those honored must be deceased.
Lawmakers passed legislation in 2015 calling for a statue of Graham to replace that of Charles Aycock, former North Carolina governor, Fox News Digital previously reported.
The base of Graham's new statue is inscribed with two Bible verses: John 3:16 (“God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” “) and John 14:6 (“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”).
Billy Graham received the Congressional Gold Medal in 1996, along with his wife, Ruth Bell Graham. (Billy Graham Evangelistic Association)
It also features a plaque similar to Graham's tombstone on the grounds of the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, North Carolina: “Preacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
The unveiling of the statue will take place during a private dedication ceremony at the National Statuary Hall, as reported by Fox News Digital.
Members of the Graham family are scheduled to be present, along with President Johnson, other congressional representatives and the North Carolina Statuary Hall Committee, the association said.
Billy Graham standing with his son Franklin Graham. The statue's unveiling is scheduled for Thursday, May 16, at the U.S. Capitol. (Billy Graham Evangelistic Association)
The National Statuary Hall is located along the perimeter of the Rotunda and in the Crypt of the United States Capitol Building in Washington, DC.
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Billy Graham is one of the few private citizens to have received three of Congress's highest honors, the association noted.
He received the Congressional Gold Medal; he was honored at the United States Capitol (only the fourth private citizen to have been so honored when it occurred in 2018); and now they have commissioned a statue to be placed in the Statuary Hall.
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The statue of the evangelical leader was created in his hometown of Charlotte at Chas Fagan Fine Art, the association said.
It was cast in bronze at Carolina Bronze Sculpture, a foundry in Seagrove, North Carolina; The base of the statue is Salisbury granite from a quarry in Rowan County.
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