St. Charbel Makhlouf, a Lebanese Maronite monk, is venerated by Christians, Catholics, and Muslims. The Monastery of St. Maron in Annaya, Lebanon, is the resting place of St. Charbel Makhlouf. Pope Leo XIV will visit the tomb of St. Charbel on December 1 as part of his apostolic journey to Lebanon. Father Youssef Matta, a Maronite monk, explains the significance of the Pope's visit.
13 days ago
Pope Leo XIV made history on December 1, 2025, as the first pontiff to visit the tomb of St. Charbel Makhlouf at the Monastery of St. Maron in Annaya, Lebanon.1 3 4
Traveling 25 miles from Beirut amid steady rain, the Pope was greeted by thousands of pilgrims waving flags and tossing flowers, undeterred by the weather.1 3
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and First Lady Jamileh Aoun joined the welcoming party, alongside Maronite Order superiors.4 5
St. Charbel Makhlouf, born Yousef Antoun Makhlouf in 1828 in Bkaakafra, Lebanon, entered the Lebanese Maronite Order in 1851 and lived as a hermit for 23 years until his death on Christmas Eve 1898.2 5 6
Known for extreme asceticism, prayer, and poverty, he was beatified in 1965 and canonized in 1977 by Pope Paul VI, with his incorrupt body and phenomena like glowing lights at his tomb drawing global devotion.2 3
The monastery archives document nearly 30,000 miracles attributed to his intercession, including healings that transcend religious boundaries.2 5
St. Charbel is revered by Christians, Muslims, and others as a "miracle worker for humanity," with his graces seen as impartial to doctrine.1 2
Father Youssef Matta, a Maronite monk at the monastery, described the saint as a "symbol of solidarity" fostering Lebanese interreligious harmony amid political divisions.2
Pilgrims, including Muslims, visit annually, especially on the 22nd of each month, highlighting his role in unity during Lebanon's crises like economic collapse and conflict.2 3
In a French address at the darkened tomb, Pope Leo reflected on St. Charbel's silent life teaching prayer to the godless, silence amid noise, modesty over ostentation, and poverty against riches.3 4 6
He entrusted the Church's unity—starting with families—the peace of Lebanon and the Levant, and global needs to the saint's intercession, stressing no peace without heart conversion.3 4 5
The Pope recited a prayer for faith, healing, and strength, then gifted a silver-bronze votive lamp symbolizing light for Lebanon.4 6
The visit underscores Pope Leo's maiden apostolic journey's focus on peace in a nation scarred by the 2020 Beirut blast, economic woes, and Hezbollah-Israel tensions.1 2
It encourages Lebanese Christians, about a third of the population, to remain despite emigration, reinforcing Lebanon's role as a dialogue hub between East and West.1 2
Father Matta viewed the event as a "spiritual catalyst" restoring dignity, spotlighting the crisis internationally and bolstering Eastern Churches' resilience.2
The Pope's itinerary continued with clergy meetings in Harissa, an interfaith gathering in Beirut, and a youth rally at Bkerki, urging perseverance.1
1: Pope in Lebanon prays for peace at tomb of saint revered by Christians and Muslims
2: St. Charbel Makhlouf, a symbol of coexistence and support for Lebanon
3: Pope visits one of world’s most loved saints: Charbel
4: Pope prays at tomb of Saint Charbel Makhlouf
5: Pope Leo entrusts Lebanon to Saint Charbel’s intercession, prays at his tomb
6: Pope Leo Entrusts Lebanon to Saint Charbel’s Intercession, Prays at His Tomb
St. Charbel’s intercession as a model for Christian‑Muslim coexistence
Saint Charbel Makhluf, the Lebanese Maronite monk canonized in 1977, stands as a profound example of how personal sanctity can inspire broader harmony among diverse faith communities. Born in 1828 in a mountainous village in northern Lebanon, Charbel entered the monastic life at age 23, eventually becoming a hermit dedicated to prayer, penance, and union with God. His life of asceticism, marked by extraordinary miracles even after his death in 1898, has drawn devotees from all walks of life, including Muslims and Christians alike. In a region fraught with religious tensions, St. Charbel's intercession serves as a model for Christian-Muslim coexistence, embodying the Catholic Church's call to dialogue, mutual respect, and shared pursuit of peace. Through his witness, the Church highlights how holiness rooted in Christ can bridge divides, fostering a "dialogue of life" where believers of different traditions collaborate for the common good.
St. Charbel's vocation was one of radical withdrawal from the world, yet his influence radiated far beyond the walls of his Annaya monastery. As Pope Paul VI noted during his canonization, Charbel was "a son well singular, a paradoxical artisan of peace, since he sought it apart from the world, in God alone, of whom he was as if intoxicated." His lamp, "lit at the summit of the mountain of his hermitage" in the previous century, shone with increasing brilliance, leading to rapid unanimity around his holiness across Lebanon's diverse populace. This unanimity was not confined to Christians; reports of healings and conversions through his intercession have included Muslims, underscoring his universal appeal.
In Catholic teaching, saints like Charbel exemplify how individual pursuit of God can indirectly promote societal harmony. His life mirrored the biblical cedars of Lebanon, symbols of the just, as praised in Scripture—vigorous trees that stand firm amid storms. Pope Paul VI emphasized that Lebanon's biblical poets admired these cedars, and Jesus himself visited the region to affirm faith beyond ethnic boundaries, rewarding the Syro-Phoenician woman's plea as "firstfruits of salvation destined for all nations." Charbel's intercession, therefore, invites Christians and Muslims to see in his miracles a sign of God's inclusive mercy, encouraging joint veneration that transcends doctrinal differences. By invoking him, believers can pray for healing not just of bodies, but of the social wounds caused by conflict, modeling coexistence through shared devotion to a holy figure revered by both communities.
Lebanon, St. Charbel's homeland, has long been viewed by the Church as a microcosm of interfaith harmony, a "message" to the world where Christians and Muslims live as brothers. Pope John Paul II, addressing the Maronite community in 2000, hoped Lebanon would remain faithful to this vocation: a place where Christians "can live in peace and brotherhood with the followers of other beliefs, and can foster this form of coexistence." St. Charbel embodies this ideal, as his canonization came amid Lebanon's civil strife, serving as a rallying point for national unity.
Pope Paul VI, in his 1977 appeal for peace, lamented how Lebanon's "dynamic equilibrium" of ethnic and religious diversity was threatened by "murderous and destructive combats." Yet, he praised its historical role as an "example of the concrete possibility, unfortunately too rare, of a peaceful and fraternal life between sufficiently diverse communities on the ethnic and religious plane." Invoking St. Charbel during this turmoil, the Pope saw him as a intercessor for reconciliation: "May he intercede for his brothers of the Lebanese Maronite Order, and for the entire Maronite Church... May he intercede for the dear country of Lebanon, that he help it overcome the difficulties of the hour, heal the still living wounds, and walk in hope!" Similarly, in a speech to Lebanon's ambassador, Paul VI highlighted the nation's "ideal of common life among the different groups that compose the Lebanese population," crediting faith-inspired vitality for its resilience. St. Charbel's intercession thus becomes a spiritual tool for mending divisions, reminding all Lebanese—Christian and Muslim—of their shared heritage and the need for "cooperation renewed among all the sons of Lebanon."
This model extends beyond Lebanon. The Church teaches that such figures inspire global interreligious dialogue. As Pope John Paul II stated in Morocco in 1985, believers must "favor friendship between the men and the peoples who form one single community on earth," recognizing their common origin and end in God. St. Charbel's story aligns with Vatican II's Nostra Aetate, urging Christians and Muslims to "promote harmony for all men, social justice, moral values, peace, liberty." His intercession, through novenas and pilgrimages attended by mixed groups, practically enacts this by building trust and countering prejudice.
The Catholic tradition views saints' intercession not as magic, but as participation in Christ's mediation, drawing divided peoples closer to God and each other. Pope John Paul II, in addresses to bishops in Sudan, Chad, and elsewhere, stressed that Christians and Muslims should "strive sincerely for mutual understanding" and make "common cause" for justice and peace. In Chad, he called for a "dialogue of life" to accept differences and work for the common good, while defending religious freedom as the "heart of human rights." St. Charbel's intercession fits this framework: his miracles often occur in contexts of suffering shared by all Lebanese, prompting joint prayers that affirm human dignity across faiths.
Pope John Paul II further elaborated that peaceful coexistence among believers respects God's plan for humanity as "one family." Invoking St. Charbel counters "hatred and violence" by promoting a "struggle worthy of man" against selfishness and enslavement. Even in Libya, the Pope noted that dialogue between Christians and Muslims stems from "fidelity to God" and respect for the human person, resolving conflicts through cooperation rather than destruction. Thus, St. Charbel's role as intercessor models this: his devotees, regardless of religion, experience graces that foster empathy, echoing the Church's call to overcome "incomprehension and mutual distrust" through awareness of truth.
Recent papal emphases under Pope Leo XIV reinforce this. In his 2025 address to the Assyrian Church delegation, he highlighted fraternal encounters and theological dialogue as paths to unity, inspired by first-millennium models of communion without absorption. Similarly, greeting an Orthodox-Catholic pilgrimage, he invoked the Nicene Creed as "common patrimony" and hope in the Risen Christ amid violence. While focused on Christian unity, these underscore how saintly intercession like Charbel's can extend to interfaith contexts, promoting synodality and hope in diverse settings.
To emulate this model, Christians and Muslims can incorporate St. Charbel's intercession into daily life. Pray the Litany of St. Charbel together at interfaith gatherings, asking for peace in the Middle East. Visit his shrine in Annaya, a site where Muslims have long sought healings, to experience shared devotion. Advocate for Lebanon's reconstruction, drawing on his witness to support initiatives for justice and freedom, as urged in papal messages. By doing so, we heed the Church's exhortation: "Recourse to violence in the name of one's religious belief is a perversion of the very teachings of the major religions." Instead, let Charbel's prayerful life guide us toward "brotherly generosity" and humility.
In conclusion, St. Charbel Makhluf's intercession offers a timeless model for Christian-Muslim coexistence: a hermit's solitude yielding fruits of unity in a pluralistic society. Rooted in Lebanon's vocation as a bridge between East and West, his holiness invites all to God's inclusive love, healing wounds through prayer and dialogue. May we, like him, seek God alone, trusting that such pursuit will light the path to peace for Lebanon and the world.