The Lebanese Maronite Missionary Order (LMMO; Jamʻīyat al-Mursalīn al-Lubnānīyyn al-Mawārinah) is relatively recent. It was established in 1865 CE by Metropolitan Yūḥannā al-Ḥabīb. This short, yet rich, history with all its challenges and struggles is well documented and preserved in their manuscript collection housed in Jūniyah, Lebanon, and now displayed in HMML Reading Room.

It is possible to trace the history of the LMMO collection with its 597 manuscripts to 4 main sources. First, some manuscripts passed down through certain families or individuals who finally donated them to the order. Second, a considerable number of the manuscripts come from monasteries’ libraries, for example, the library of Dayr al-Kuraym where the order was first established and the convent of the visitation of the Virgin. Third, students in the schools of the order such as ʿAyn Waraqah and ʿAyn Tūrah provided part of the collection represented in their Arabic, French, and Latin notebooks, in addition to grammars and dictionaries. Fourth, members of the order contributed to the collection through their meticulous documentation of the history of the order, the life of its founder, and the endeavor to establish new venues in Latin America. These specific writings cover a wide range of genres such as autobiographies, biographies, travel accounts, rules and regulations, documents, and correspondence. View now