St. Charbel Makhlouf

Patron Saint of Lebanon

St. Charbel Makhlouf was a 19th century Maronite priest from Lebanon. After his father died when he was 3, Charbel was raised in the faith by his uncles. From their model, he became a professed monk in 1853 and was ordained in 1859. In the monastery, Charbel was a devout ascetic, and then in 1875 with the permission from his abbot, lived the last 23 years of his life as a hermit. He spent these years devoted to prayer, praying for those who heard of his holiness and came to ask for his prayers. Pope Paul VI canonized St. Charbel in 1977 and he serves as a model not only for Maronites, but also those attracted to the eremitical life in the modern age.