In every era of Church history, at every latitude of the world's geography, saints belong to every age and every state of life; they are the concrete faces of every people, language, and nation. Today we invite you to discover Lebanon by following the traces of the most important Christian saint in the Middle East: Saint Charbel (1828-1898), a monk of the Maronite Order. Lebanon, a small country in the Middle East, is perhaps one of the most fascinating places in the world. Unfortunately, its extraordinary beauty is marred by a war that has never ended and that necessarily thrives on evident contrasts and contradictions.
The true uniqueness of Lebanon lies above all in its inhabitants: approximately 4 million people divided into many ethnic and religious groups. The friars of the Maronite Order managed to make Lebanon a place of refuge for all those persecuted in the Middle East, because they loved freedom and defended human dignity with their blood. Indeed, it is precisely thanks to them that Lebanon became a safe refuge for the persecuted.
The Lebanese land and the Maronite tree have given the world many fruits of holiness, and it is precisely to this Order that Saint Charbel belongs: a hermit who lived out his mission in absolute seclusion in the Lebanese monastery of Annaya (near Beirut) and was beatified on December 6, 1965, the final day of the Second Vatican Council. Rather than beatifying a missionary, the Council raised a hermit to the glory of the altars—one who later became a missionary “through a multitude of miracles.”
Yes, because the miraculous healings that have occurred through his intercession continue to increase throughout the world and concern people of every faith and belief.
But who is Saint Charbel? Let us try to discover him together. What is most striking about him is the paradoxical nature of his story. Having lived as a very secluded monk and hermit, he was little known during his lifetime. To serve God and humanity, he chose the solitude of the hermitage and lived in complete seclusion. He left no writings, launched no social or spiritual works, created no spiritual movements or schools, and founded no congregations. The few people who knew him during his lifetime testified to a heroic holiness, an impressive radical commitment to evangelical and religious life. A very obedient, humble, reserved monk, a man of very few words, far from any limelight. His fame, in fact, only took off after his death.
The saint died on Christmas Eve in 1898. The following day, he was buried in the monastery's common grave. For several months, a bright and mysterious light, visible throughout the valley, emanated from his tomb every night. Since electricity had not yet reached those places, the sight was truly impressive. Charbel's reputation for holiness soon attracted many people, and a few months after the burial, the monks decided to move the body inside the convent. When they opened the tomb, they discovered that the body was still intact and flexible, like that of a sleeping person. A viscous liquid oozed from its pores; they soon discovered that this liquid had extraordinary healing properties. The completely inexplicable phenomenon lasted for 79 years, until 1977, the year of his canonization.
It is impossible to list all the miracles that have occurred through the intercession of Saint Charbel: the monastery of Annaya has received more than 6,000 testimonies of physical and spiritual healings. But what is most striking is not the sheer number of miracles, but the fact that they concern people of every faith and belief! Fostering encounters among different faiths in pursuit of the one God who is the Father of all: this is the greatest miracle performed by Saint Charbel.
