Millions of people will now see these important Bible verses thanks to a new Billy Graham statue in the US Capitol

Billy Graham, the famed evangelist whose crusades reached hundreds of millions of people, was officially honored at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday.

A 7-foot statute of Graham's likeness was unveiled inside the National Statuary Hall during a ceremony that was attended by Graham's family, Speaker Mike Johnson (R), North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D), former Vice President Mike Pence, and other North Carolina lawmakers.

'I think it's providential that it's right here. I think it's the perfect placement.'

"Today North Carolina gives the nation a symbol representing one of our dearest treasures: the Reverend Billy Graham, a man of faith, a man of North Carolina," Cooper said at the ceremony.

The statue depicts Graham holding an open Bible with his left hand, and his right hands points to the text. The Bible is opened to Galatians 6:14, which reads, "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."

The base of the statue includes two additional Bible verses:

• John 3:16: "For 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."
• John 14:6: "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'"

Speaker Johnson remarked that he was thrilled of the statue's position — prominently situated near the opening of the Capitol hall — because it means millions of people will be confronted with the Bible verses and Graham's faith.

"I think it's providential that it's right here," Johnson said. "I think it's the perfect placement."

Franklin Graham said that his father would be uncomfortable with Thursday's ceremony "because he would want the focus to be on the one that he preached. He’d want the focus to be on the Lord Jesus Christ."

Known for being a pastor to presidents — counseling Harry Truman to Barack Obama — Graham died in 2018 at the age of 99. Because of his oversized influence, Graham became just the fourth private citizen to lie in honor inside the U.S. Capitol. He was laid to rest at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, North Carolina, next to his wife on March 2, 2018.

Graham's statue replaces the statue of Charles Aycock, a Democrat and segregationist who served as the 50th governor of North Carolina. The campaign to install Graham's statue dates back to 2015.

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