Holy Charbel Makhlouf

This prayer card contains:

A short biography of the saint
A prayer for mercy
Youssef Antoun Makhlouf was born on May 8, 1828 in Beqa'Kafra in northern Lebanon and received a pious education that awakened in him a love of prayer. He followed his two uncles and hermits to the monastery of St. Anthony of Kozhaya, where he dedicated himself to a monastic Klausner life.

In 1851 he came to the Monastery of Our Lady of Maifouk, where he spent his first year as a monk, then to the Monastery of St. Maron in Annaya (Lebanon Mountains), where he joined the Lebanese Maronite Order under the name of Brother Charbel. On November 1, 1853 he took his vows at the monastery of St. Maron in Annaya.

On 23 July 1859 he was ordained priest in Bkerke. For sixteen years he lived in the monastery of St. Maron in Annaya. On 15 February 1875 he moved to the Hermitage of St. Peter and Paul, which is part of the monastery. He spent his time in prayer and adoration and rarely left his Hermitage, where he spent 23 years.

On December 16, 1898, Brother Charbel experienced symptoms of paralysis during the Mass celebration. His agony lasted eight days, then he died on 24 December. An increasing number of people visited his grave. Many sick people begged for mercy and were heard. On 9 October 1977 he was canonized by Pope Paul VI. Even today, St. Charbel Makhlouf, this humble monk and priest, attracts large crowds of people in which Christians and non-Christians come into contact with each other.