Billy Graham statue scheduled to be unveiled at US Capitol next week: 'Great honor'

FIRST ON FOX: A new Billy Graham statue is going to be placed at the U.S. Capitol building next week, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association shared with Fox News Digital on Monday afternoon. 

"It’s a rare honor," the organization said in materials shown to Fox News Digital. 

The statue is to be unveiled on Thursday, May 16, in a ceremony beginning at 11 a.m.

Charlotte-based artist Chas Fagan created the sculpture, said the group, which shows Graham gesturing toward an open Bible in his hand.

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"This isn’t just a statue of my father — it represents the One that he surrendered his life to and the message that he preached for more than 80 years, that God loves us and He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to save us from our sins," said Rev. Franklin Graham to Fox News Digital in comments shared by email Monday afternoon. 

"What I appreciate most is that this is an opportunity for everyone in future generations who see the statue to be reminded of God’s love, grace and forgiveness."

The seven-foot bronze statue is described as standing on a pedestal engraved with verses from the Bible that "highlight Graham’s lifelong commitment to sharing the Gospel," said the association.

Remarks next Thursday at the ceremony are expected to come from House Speaker Mike Johnson as well as from Rev. Graham, son of Billy Graham and head of both the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan's Purse.

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A media spokesperson for Speaker Johnson's office confirmed the event. 

Three-time Grammy Award winner Michael W. Smith is expected to perform as well. 

"This is a great honor and my father would be humbled and grateful," Rev. Graham also said. 

"At the same time, he would not want the attention on himself but on God's Son, the Lord Jesus Christ." 

Billy Graham passed away in 2018 at age 99.

He spent over 80 years preaching to more people in live audiences than anyone else in history — nearly 215 million people across six continents, the organization said. 

He provided spiritual counsel to 12 sitting U.S. presidents and many world leaders.

"The legacy of Rev. Billy Graham is based on his simple message of forgiveness based on John 3:16," said Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., in remarks shared with Fox News Digital by the association.

Budd was part of a bipartisan effort to place the statue in the Capitol. 

"He was the first private citizen from North Carolina to lie in honor in the United States Capitol and his likeness should stand in the U.S. Capitol forever."

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Each state gets to 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, a former North Carolina governor, Fox News Digital previously reported.

The base of the new statue of Graham is inscribed with two Bible verses: John 3:16 ("God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall 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 goes to the Father except through me’"). 

It also features a plaque similar to Graham’s grave marker on the grounds of the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, North Carolina: "Preacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

The statue’s unveiling will take place during a private dedication ceremony in The National Statuary Hall, Fox News Digital is told.

Graham family members, along with Speaker Johnson, other congressional representatives, and the North Carolina Statuary Hall Committee are scheduled to be present, the association said. 

The National Statuary Hall is located along the perimeter of the Rotunda and in the Crypt of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. 

Billy Graham is one of only a handful of private citizens to receive three of the highest honors from Congress, the association noted.

He received the Congressional Gold Medal; he was laid in honor at the U.S. Capitol (only the fourth private citizen to have been so honored when it occurred in 2018); and now he has had a statue commissioned for placement in Statuary Hall.  

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The statue of the evangelical leader was created in his hometown of Charlotte at Chas Fagan Fine Art, said the association. 

It was cast in bronze at Carolina Bronze Sculpture, a foundry in Seagrove, North Carolina; the statue base is Salisbury granite from a quarry in Rowan County. 

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