NC Family Staff | May 16, 2024 | SHARE: 
Today, a seven-foot statue of Billy Graham is being unveiled in National Statuary Hall at the United States Capitol. At the base of the statue are the Bible verses John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting 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.” The statue, designed by Charlotte-based artist Chas Fagan, features Graham pointing to an open Bible. It will be unveiled at 11 am at a private ceremony with remarks from son Dr. Franklin Graham and U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, along with music from Michael W. Smith.
The National Statuary Hall contains two statues from each of the fifty states. The other statue from North Carolina features Zebulon Vance. Vance was a politician who served in a variety of capacities during the latter half of the 19th century, including his roles as governor and senator.
Among these statues are names such as Ronald Reagan, Helen Keller, and Amelia Earhart. The majority of these statues are of people who served in a political capacity, making Billy Graham’s statue that much more significant.
In 2013, the North Carolina General Assembly unanimously named Rev. Graham North Carolina’s “Favorite Son.” Then-Governor Pat McCrory signed House Bill 540 into law in 2015, which decreed that a statue of Graham would be commissioned to represent North Carolina in the U.S. Capitol. As the House Bill said, “There have been many great North Carolinians, but few have impacted the world more than Billy Graham.”
Billy Graham is one of the few private citizens to receive three of the highest honors from Congress—the Congressional Gold Medal (1996), to have lain in honor in the Capitol (2018), and to have a statue placed in Statuary Hall (2024).
“The legacy of Rev. Billy Graham is based on his simple message of forgiveness based on John 3:16. His lifelong commitment to preaching the Gospel, his fight for civil rights, his opposition to communism, and his spiritual guidance provided hope to hundreds of millions,” said Senator Ted Budd (R-NC) who was part of the bipartisan effort to create the statue. “His likeness should stand in the U.S. Capitol forever.”
