Deepertruth: Saint Sharbel Makhlouf

Saint Sharbel Makhlouf 7/24/2023

Saint Sharbel Makhlouf was born in Bekaa Kafra on May 8, 1828. Bekaa Kafra is a small mountain village, the highest in Lebanon and the Middle East, 5118 feet (1560 meters) above sea level, in the region of Bsharri (North Lebanon).

With more than 29,000 registered miracles, St. Sharbel is considered to have the most miracles out of the over 10,000 saints in the history of the Church, other than the Blessed Virgin Mary. Click HERE to watch the talk on the Divine Mercy website.

A large number of miracles have been attributed to Saint Charbel since his death in 1898–many of them very recent. Some say the number is as high as 26,000 accounts of healing.

Although this saint never traveled far from the Lebanese village of Beka-Kafra where he was born, his influence has spread widely.

Joseph Zaroun Maklouf was raised by an uncle because his father, a mule driver, died when Joseph was only three. At the age of 23, Joseph joined the Monastery of St. Maron at Annaya, Lebanon, and took the name Sharbel in honor of a second-century martyr. He professed his final vows in 1853, and was ordained six years later.

Following the example of the fifth-century Saint Maron, Sharbel lived as a hermit from 1875, until his death. His reputation for holiness prompted people to seek him to receive a blessing and to be remembered in his prayers. He followed a strict fast and was very devoted to the Blessed Sacrament. When his superiors occasionally asked him to administer the sacraments to nearby villages, Sharbel did so gladly.