St. Charbel

St. Charbel was born Youssef Antoun Makhlouf in northern Lebanon in 1823. He was well brought up in the faith and devoted to prayer from his early days. He joined his two uncles who were hermits at the St. Antonious Kozhaya monastery and later joined the St. Maron monastery at Annaya. He was ordained a priest for the Maronite rite on July 23, 1859 and lived at the St. Maron monastery for many years. In 1875, he became a hermit in the St. Peter and Paul hermitage near the monastery. He lived a life of penance, solitude, and prayer. He became ill while saying mass on December 16, 1898 and died on Christmas Eve. After his death, mysterious lights were seen around his grave and numerous miracles were reported. His body was found to be perfectly preserved when it was exhumed and placed in a special grave.