St. Charbel (May 8, 1828 – December 24, 1898) was born Joseph Zaroun Maklouf in the
Lebanese mountain village of Beka-Kafra, the youngest of five children. When he was only three years old, his father died. As a child and youth, he took care of the family cow and spent much of his time in the countryside in quiet contemplation. In fact, he was so pious the villagers called him “the saint.” Against the wishes of his mother and uncle, he left home in 1851, traveling on foot to the Maronite Monastery of Our Lady of Mayfouk to join the monks there. Upon entering the order, the saint chose the name Charbel (or Sharbel) in honor of a second century martyr.
 
In 1853, St. Charbel joined the Monastery of St. Maron at Annaya where he professed his final vows and was ordained 1859. He lived and worked at the monastery until 1875 when he requested to go live as a hermit like his maternal uncles. Initially denied the request, he was granted permission after the lamp in his cell miraculously burned for hours without oil. In his life as a hermit, St. Charbel practiced severe bodily mortifications, eating and sleeping little, wearing a hair shirt, and sleeping on the hard ground. He performed many miraculous works in his lifetime, was renowned for healing, casting out demons, and levitating during prayer.
 
St. Charbel had a deep personal love of God’s Eucharistic presence, and it was while he was saying Mass at the age of 70, as he held up the host, that he suffered a stroke and died several days later. Millions have visited his tomb and sought and received his intercession, even those of other faiths. Pope Paul VI beatified St. Charbel in 1965 and canonized him 12 years later. He is the patron of Lebanon. St. Charbel Maklouf, pray for us!