Annaya · 1828 — 1898
The silent hermitwho still works wonders.
For more than a century, the faithful from every nation have witnessed healings, conversions, and consolations at the tomb of Saint Charbel Makhlouf. This is a place to read those stories — and to add your own.
“The most important thing in life is to come to the end of life without having lost one's soul.”
— St. Charbel Makhlouf
29,000+
Miracles and graces recorded to this day
More miracles are attributed to Saint Charbel than to any other Catholic saint — over twenty-nine thousand testimonies of healing, conversion and answered prayer archived by the monks of Annaya since 1898, from Christians, Muslims, Druze and unbelievers alike.
The Hermit of Annaya
Did you know?
His early life
Born Youssef Antoun Makhlouf on May 8, 1828, in the mountain village of Bekaa Kafra, Lebanon, he was the fifth of five children. His father died when he was only three years old, leaving the family in poverty. As a young boy, he was deeply drawn to prayer and solitude, often disappearing into the fields to spend hours in contemplation.
At age twenty-three, against his family's wishes, he left his village and entered the monastery of Our Lady of Mayfouq. He later transferred to the Monastery of Saint Maron in Annaya, where he took the name Charbel — after a 2nd-century martyr — and made his solemn profession in 1853.
His hermit years
For twenty-three years, Charbel lived as a hermit in the monastery of Saints Peter and Paul at Annaya. His life was one of extreme austerity: he slept on a straw mat, ate only once a day, and spent most of his waking hours in prayer and manual labour.
He never spoke unless necessary, and even then only a few words. The monks who knew him remembered a man of such stillness that his very presence seemed to quiet the room around him. He once said: "The most important thing in life is to come to the end of life without having lost one's soul."
His death & legacy
On December 16, 1898, while celebrating the Divine Liturgy, Saint Charbel suffered a stroke. He died eight days later, on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1898, whispering the names of Jesus and Mary. He was seventy years old.
What followed made him one of the most venerated saints in the Middle East. His body, exhumed months later, was found intact and exuding a mysterious reddish liquid. It was found intact again when the tomb was opened in 1950 and 1952, and pilgrims from every continent still come to pray at his tomb.
Canonisation & honour
Saint Charbel was beatified in 1965 by Pope Paul VI and canonised in 1977 by the same pontiff — the first Lebanese saint to be raised to the altars of the universal Church. His feast day is celebrated on the third Sunday of July.
In 2017, Saint Charbel's relics were brought to the United States for the first time, visiting churches across the country. On December 1, 2025, Pope Leo XIV became the first pope to pray at his tomb in Annaya, entrusting Lebanon and the Middle East to his intercession.
✦ Miracle of the week ✦
The Light Above the Tomb
Annaya · 1898
On the nights following his burial, villagers from the surrounding hills reported a brilliant column of light rising from the grave.
Read the full storySaying of the day
“The most important thing in life is to come to the end of life without having lost one's soul.”
— St. Charbel
A rare photograph
Carrying firewood to his hermitage
A rare photograph of Saint Charbel carrying a bundle of firewood on his back. In his last twenty-three years he lived almost alone at Annaya: he cut and carried his own wood, ground his own wheat, baked his own bread, and spent his nights on a straw mat in prayer.
Photograph shared by devotees · the photographer is unknown
Worth watching
One of the most powerful intercessors
On his feast day, EWTN remembers Saint Charbel as one of the most powerful intercessors we can turn to — and asks for his prayers over everything going on in our lives. Watch to the end for a blessing.
National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes · Maryland
Photographs from a place of prayer
Tap any photograph to enlarge it and read the plaques.
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Known Miracles
Three stories among thousands.
The Healing of Nohad El Shami
Beirut, Lebanon
A partially paralysed Lebanese woman experienced a vision of Saint Charbel and Saint Maron during the night. She awoke to find her neck bearing two surgical incisions and her body completely healed.
Read story→1898The Incorruptible Body
Annaya Monastery
Months after his burial, a luminous light was seen around his tomb for forty-five nights. When the monks opened the grave, his body was found intact and exuding a reddish liquid.
Read story→1875The Lamp Filled with Water
Hermitage of Saints Peter and Paul
A servant, wishing to mock the hermit, filled his oil lamp with water instead of oil. Saint Charbel lit the lamp without comment, and it burned through the night.
Read story→
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