Rev. Franklin Graham, son of the late Rev. Billy Graham, revealed Sunday that his father would have been “uncomfortable” with the statue unveiled last week in his honor at the U.S. Capitol.
“He’d be a little uncomfortable, to be honest with you, because he would not want the attention to be drawn to him,” the CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse told “Sunday Night in America.” “He would want the attention to go to the one that my father served, and that was the Lord Jesus Christ. He would want all the attention to go to Him.”
The statue replaced that of former North Carolina Gov. Charles Aycock.
During the unveiling, Gov. Roy Cooper, D-N.C., highlighted this change, stating Graham is a “a better representation of our state than the statue it replaces, which brought memories of a painful history of racism.”
The statue unveiled last week was created in Graham’s hometown of Charlotte by Charlotte-based artist Chas Fagan. It features intricate details that reflect his faith. Franklin Graham highlighted four elements in his interview with Gowdy.
Franklin Graham noted the statue depicts Billy Graham with an open Bible in his hand. The verse inscribed on the Bible is Galatians 6:14, which Franklin Graham says reads, “God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” Franklin explained, “[This] was the last message my father wanted to preach, but he was never able to preach it.”
