Saint Charbel Makhlouf

Stored in Cargo: Saint Charbel Makhlouf

Saint Charbel Makhlouf
Feast Day	July 24 (Maronite); Third Sunday of July (Roman Calendar)
Liturgical Class
Patronage	Lebanon; Maronite Church; sufferers of illness
Birthplace	Bekaa Kafra, Mount Lebanon, Ottoman Empire
Death Place	Annaya, Mount Lebanon, Ottoman Empire
Cause of Death	natural causes
Primary Shrine	Monastery of Saint Maron, Annaya, Lebanon

Saint Charbel Makhlouf (Arabic: شربل مخلوف; 8 May 1828 – 24 December 1898), religious name Charbel, was a Lebanese Maronite monk and hermit renowned for his ascetic life and the extraordinary phenomena surrounding his tomb. Born Youssef Antoun Makhlouf in the mountain village of Bekaa Kafra, the youngest of five children of poor but pious parents Antoun Zaarour Makhlouf and Brigitta Chidiac, he was raised in a devout Maronite family; orphaned young, he was cared for by an uncle before entering the Monastery of Our Lady of Mayfouq in 1851, taking the name Charbel after the 2nd-century Antiochene martyr. Professed in the Lebanese Maronite Order in 1853, ordained priest in 1859, he lived as a hermit at the Annaya hermitage from 1875 until his death on Christmas Eve 1898 after a stroke during Mass.

Canonized on 9 October 1977 by Pope Paul VI—the first Maronite saint canonized in modern times—after two authenticated miracles, Charbel’s cause opened in 1926, with incorruption discovered in 1950 and exuding liquid verified by medical commissions. His feast is the third Sunday of July in the Roman Calendar and 24 July in the Maronite. While hagiographic traditions report visions, levitations, and luminous phenomena—drawn from eyewitness testimonies—these remain devotional without formal verification. Patron of Lebanon and sufferers of illness, his tomb at Annaya attracts millions annually.

Biography

Birth

Youssef Antoun Makhlouf was born on 8 May 1828 in Bekaa Kafra, the highest village in Lebanon, to Antoun Zaarour Makhlouf and Brigitta Elias Chidiac.

Early Life

Orphaned young, Youssef tended sheep and prayed at a local grotto dedicated to the Virgin, earning the nickname “the saintly one.” At 23, he left home without telling his family to join the Monastery of Our Lady of Mayfouq.

Occupation

Professed monk 1 November 1853; ordained priest 23 July 1859 at Bkerké. Served at various monasteries before becoming hermit at Annaya in 1875.

Vocation

Charbel’s vocation was extreme asceticism: silence, manual labor, and Eucharistic devotion. He celebrated one daily Mass, often at 2 a.m., and practiced severe penances.

Death

On 16 December 1898, Charbel suffered a stroke during Mass. He died on Christmas Eve, 24 December 1898, aged 70.

Saint Charbel Makhlouf met his end peacefully in old age.

Significant events

• Entered monastery, 1851.
• Ordained priest, 1859.
• Began hermitical life, 1875.
• Body found incorrupt and exuding liquid, 1950.

Significant locations

Loading map...

{"minzoom":false,"maxzoom":false,"mappingservice":"leaflet","width":"600px","height":"400px","centre":false,"title":"","label":"","icon":"","lines":[],"polygons":[],"circles":[],"rectangles":[],"copycoords":false,"static":false,"zoom":3,"defzoom":14,"layers":["OpenStreetMap"],"image layers":[],"overlays":[],"resizable":false,"fullscreen":false,"scrollwheelzoom":true,"cluster":false,"clustermaxzoom":20,"clusterzoomonclick":true,"clustermaxradius":80,"clusterspiderfy":true,"geojson":"","clicktarget":"","imageLayers":[],"locations":[{"text":"\u003Cdiv class=\"mw-parser-output\"\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBirth location: Bekaa Kafra, Mount Lebanon, Ottoman Empire\n\u003C/p\u003E\u003C/div\u003E","title":"Birth location: Bekaa Kafra, Mount Lebanon, Ottoman Empire\n","link":"","lat":34.2667,"lon":36.05,"icon":""},{"text":"\u003Cdiv class=\"mw-parser-output\"\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDeath location: Annaya, Mount Lebanon, Ottoman Empire\n\u003C/p\u003E\u003C/div\u003E","title":"Death location: Annaya, Mount Lebanon, Ottoman Empire\n","link":"","lat":34.1167,"lon":35.7667,"icon":""},{"text":"\u003Cdiv class=\"mw-parser-output\"\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHermitage and tomb (Monastery of Saint Maron, Annaya, Keserwan District, Lebanon)\n\u003C/p\u003E\u003C/div\u003E","title":"Hermitage and tomb (Monastery of Saint Maron, Annaya, Keserwan District, Lebanon)\n","link":"","lat":34.1167,"lon":35.7667,"icon":""},{"text":"\u003Cdiv class=\"mw-parser-output\"\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBirthplace parish (Monastery of Saint Doumit, Bekaa Kafra, North Governorate, Lebanon)\n\u003C/p\u003E\u003C/div\u003E","title":"Birthplace parish (Monastery of Saint Doumit, Bekaa Kafra, North Governorate, Lebanon)\n","link":"","lat":34.2667,"lon":36.05,"icon":""}],"imageoverlays":null}

Legend

• Birth location: Bekaa Kafra, Mount Lebanon, Ottoman Empire
• Death location: Annaya, Mount Lebanon, Ottoman Empire
• Notable location: Hermitage and tomb (Monastery of Saint Maron, Annaya, Keserwan District, Lebanon)
• Notable location: Birthplace parish (Monastery of Saint Doumit, Bekaa Kafra, North Governorate, Lebanon)
• Notable location:
• Notable location:
• Notable location:

Dynamic content

Parishes

Saint Charbel Makhlouf
No results
This map created from a Cargo query ()

Media

This will pull from Saint media.

Shrines

Dynamic shrines

This will pull in related Shrines.

Canonization

Servant of God

Cause opened 1926 in Lebanon.

Venerable

Declared Venerable 21 December 1965.

Beatification

Beatified 5 December 1965 by Pope Paul VI.

Canonization

Canonized 9 October 1977 by Pope Paul VI after two authenticated miracles.

Miracles

Two authenticated miracles for canonization:

• 1950 healing of Sister Mary Abel Kamari from gastric ulcer.
• 1966 healing of Iskandar Obeid from blindness.

Patronage

Saint Charbel Makhlouf is patron of Lebanon and those afflicted by illness.

Feast day=

Third Sunday of July (Roman); July 24 (Maronite)

Veneration

Saint Charbel Makhlouf is venerated with massive pilgrimages to Annaya. His incorrupt body lies in a glass coffin.

External links

• Holy See: Canonization Homily
• Catholic Online: St. Charbel Makhlouf
• Official Monastery Site