Evangelist Billy Graham will be honored with a statue in Washington, D.C., for his decades of evangelism.
The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association announced the honor on Thursday, which also marked Graham’s 101st birthday. Graham died in 2018 at the age of 99.
Graham was a native of North Carolina, and the state’s legislature named him North Carolina’s Favorite Son in 2015. Early in 2019, the North Carolina Statuary Hall Committee began moving to place a statue of Graham in the U.S. Capitol’s hall. Graham preached in person to about 215 million people, more than anyone in history.
Each state is allowed two statues in Statuary Hall, and Graham’s will replace a statue of Charles Brantley Aycock, North Carolina’s 50th governor, who was in the office from 1901 to 1905.
“Our hope is that adding his likeness to Statuary Hall will continue to bring awareness to my father’s life work of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ and allow the message he preached to be shared with those who visit for many years to come,” said Billy Graham’s son, Franklin Graham.
Billy Graham’s statue will be sculpted by Charlotte-based artist Chas Fagan.
