Every year, thousands of pilgrims, Christians and Muslims alike, travel to Annaya, Lebanon to pray at the tomb of Saint Charbel Makhlouf.
On December 1,Pope Leo XIV was among them.
At the main entrance to the Monastery of St. Maroun, which houses the tomb, the Pope was greeted by the monastery’s superior and the Superior General of the Lebanese Maronite Order, as well as Lebanon’s President and First Lady.
The Pope then prayed in silence before St. Charbel’s tomb, before a welcome speech was given by the Superior General, Abbot Mahfouz Hady.
In his address delivered in French, the Pope reflected on St. Charbel—“who lived hidden and silent, yet whose fame spread throughout the world”.
The Pope said the hermit had been “shaped by the Holy Spirit” to teach “prayer to those who live without God, silence to those who live amid noise, modesty to those who live for appearances, and poverty to those who pursue riches.”
delivered in French, the Pope reflected on St. Charbel—“who lived hidden and silent, yet whose fame spread throughout the world”.