St. Sharbel Makhlouf
“For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
A Maronite monk and priest, Sharbel lived decades of hidden prayer and penance before becoming one of Lebanon's most beloved saints.
The story
Youssef Antoun Makhlouf was born on May 8, 1828, in Bekaa Kafra, a mountain village in what is now Lebanon. His family belonged to the Maronite Catholic Church. His father died while Youssef was still young, and his mother later remarried. Drawn to prayer and solitude, Youssef left home in 1851 and entered the Lebanese Maronite Order at the monastery of Our Lady of Mayfouq.
He later moved to the Monastery of St. Maron at Annaya. At his religious profession in 1853, he received the name Sharbel. He studied philosophy and theology at the monastery of Sts. Cyprian and Justina in Kfifan. Among his teachers was St. Nimatullah Kassab Al-Hardini. Sharbel was ordained a priest at Bkerke on July 23, 1859, and returned to Annaya. For the next sixteen years he shared the common life of the monastery through prayer, manual labor, fasting, and priestly ministry.
In 1875 Sharbel received permission to live as a hermit at the nearby Hermitage of Sts. Peter and Paul. His life there was severe but orderly. He celebrated the Divine Liturgy, prayed the Maronite offices, worked, kept silence, and practiced obedience to his superiors. He left no extensive spiritual writings and sought no public reputation. His holiness was formed largely through ordinary monastic duties performed with perseverance.
On December 16, 1898, Sharbel suffered a stroke while celebrating the Divine Liturgy. He died at Annaya on December 24. Reports of favors and healings through his intercession spread after his death and were examined by Church authorities. Pope Paul VI beatified him on December 5, 1965, and canonized him on October 9, 1977. His optional memorial on the General Roman Calendar is July 24. His life remains a treasured witness to the spiritual riches of the Maronite Church and the Christian East.
What Sharbel teaches
St. Sharbel teaches that a life hidden from public notice can bear abundant fruit when it is offered to God. Silence, the Eucharist, work, and obedience became his path to charity. CCC 2015 reminds us that the way of perfection passes through the Cross and requires spiritual effort.
Patronage
Lebanon, Maronite Christians, hermits, the sick.
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, you called St. Sharbel to seek you in silence and to serve you at the altar. Through his intercession, heal the sick, strengthen Maronite Christians, and teach us to pray with faithful hearts. Draw us into the life hidden with you in God. Amen.