Welcome to th Site of the Congregation of the Basilian Chouetires

Upon the most beautiful hills of the Lebanese mountain, at 1300 meters altitude, rises in Bkaatouta, between Baskinta and Kfardebuan, the convent of Our Lady of the Asumption.

Dominated by mounts Sannine, Bakish and Faqra on the East coast, the convent offers to the visitor a superb panorama, indefinitely exposed. To the West, it overhangs Beirut and its Mediterranean, to the North the Kesrouan and its villages and to the South the two Metn and their beautiful hills. It moreover enjoys an environment envied by many other sites, for its quietness and the healthy and non polluted environment on one hand, and on the other hand for its dry and fresh summer and its mountain winter during the snow season. Theses advantages earned it to be considered a resort centre par excellence and a good address for the seekers of rest, meditation and health.

The history of the Convent Our Lady of the Assumption begins with the arrival of the Damascne charitable benefactor, Ibrahim Kheir Al-Moukdici. Known for his faith and his devotion, he was also a good friend of the monks of the Chouerite order.

During a visit to one of the convents of the order, St Simon at Wadi El-Karm, Bkaatouta’s neighbouring village, Ibrahim Kheir met with Monsignor Ignace Sarrouf, Archbishop of Beirut, to whom he admitted his intention to build in the region a convent for the Nuns, and which would be a place of worship, prayers and contemplation. Mgr Sarrouf was delighted by the idea and granted him his blessing. It is only then that Ibrahim went to buy in Bkaatouta the hill known by the name of « Blatat (tile) Mourad El-Khazen » or « Sakhret (rock) El-Kishk » and began in 1760 the construction of the present convent, assisted by the two Chouerite fathers : Ibrahim Al Mouallem, competent in architecture, who took care of the plans, and Youhanna Al Halabi who saw to the execution of the works.

The convent was completed in 1767. Meticulously executed with the most beautiful Stone of the region, yellow and bkue in colour, the convent, masterpiece in architectural art of its time, with its two and sometimes three superposed arcades, looked beautiful and grandiose and of a rare style in relation to the convents existing in Lebanon.

The Nuns coming from others convents to live a cloistered life had been welcomed in this convent. Others, of different Arab nationalities joined them, aiming at spending their life in adoration, contemplation and prayer. They earned their living from manual work.

The convent became since that time a source of light that radiated in its environment by the prayer and the spirit of the gospel. It had become a shelter for the poor and a guide for the disconcerted.

 In 1942, in response to the present needs of the Church, the Nuns left the cloisture and devoted themselves to social works in all their varieties. They opened a school to instruct and educate the children of the region and founded an institute for the orphans. A part of the convent was transformed into a centre to welcome any person looking for quiet and rest.

 It is unfair to confine oneself to the historic importance of this convent without relating a miraculous fact that had occured, 250 years ago, when the sisters lived in the convent, and that does not stop dazzling the believing and devout visitors.

Fresh water provided to the convent, was coming from a nearby spring. But water was not reaching the first floor, inhabited by the Nuns, the level of the spring being lower that the one of the first floor. Engineers, due to the lack of technical nature at that time, decided that the Nuns had to obtain jars and fill them from the spring to get fresh water. But the Nuns, in order not to miss prayer and meditation, refused this prosition and decided to ask for help from the Virgin mary, their Patron Saint, devoting to her a month of sacrifice, fasting, abstinence and prayers.

The last day of the month, they went through the convent in procession with the icon of the Blessed Virgin which would probably be a copy of the original painted by St Luke the Evangelist. The procession ended up in the first floor at the place where water was meant to spurt out. They placed the icon of the Blessed Virgin above the tap previously installed and all of the sudden water gushed out. Water keeps gushing out till today from the tap located under the icon of the Blessed Virgin. Ever since, pilgrims come and visit this place and solicit graces from the Blessed Virgin, Patron Saint of the convent.

 The prayers of the Nuns who live in this convent rise up day and night to the Creator to solicit forgiveness of human sins and call for an abundance of graces for Lebanon as well as for all friends and benefactors.

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