The Catholic Armenians who fled to Lebanon in the declining years of the 17th century may be credited with establishing the first enduring Armenian community in the land. The Maronites further acted on the Armenians' behalf in 1742, when they interceded with the Vatican to win Papal recognition for the patriarch of the Armenian Catholics. In 1749, the Armenian Catholic Church built a monastery in Bzoummar, where the image of Our Lady of Bzommar is venerated. The monastery is now acknowledged as the oldest extant Armenian monastery in Lebanon. Alongside it was built the patriarchal see for the entire Armenian Catholic Church.