On the 22nd of each month, thousands of people from all over the world unite in prayer and fasting.
They celebrate Mass honoring the miraculous healing of Nohad El Shami. Through Saint Charbel Makhlouf’s intercession, she was cured in 1993 of hemiplegia in Lebanon. (However, Shami recently passed away on May 14, 2025.)
This Maronite Catholic tradition spreads from east to west.
Many Christians from diverse backgrounds, and even some Muslims from various parts of the world, gather together on this day seeking the powerful intercession of this great monk, hermit, priest, miracle-worker, mystic, and saint.
Who is Saint Charbel?
Born on May 8, 1828, in Bekaa Kafra, North Lebanon, and orphaned at a young age, Youssef Antoun Makhlouf was nevertheless completely wrapped in God’s love and focused on serving Christ.
He joined the Monastery of Saint Maroun in Annaya, Mount Lebanon, at age 23, eventually entering the Maronite Order. He took the name Charbel after a second-century martyr from Antioch.
Saint Charbel lived as a hermit from 1875 until he died in 1898, where he followed the Maronite traditions of monastic life. There, he prayed, fasted, and performed extraordinary acts of penance.
He was deeply devoted to the Eucharist and spent hours in prayer both before and after Mass. To Saint Charbel, silence and love were the language of God. He became an instrument of His truth and wisdom by listening to God’s Word.
While celebrating Mass in 1898, Saint Charbel suffered a stroke. He died eight days later at age 70.
When monks from the nearby monastery discovered his death, they rushed to see him and to pray beside his body.
His hermitage was extremely cold at 4600 feet above sea level, especially after snowing in the dead of night.
Reflecting on his meekness, self-abandonment, and perseverance in the face of immense suffering, one monk said, ‘If we’re suffering so much for only one night, how was Fr. Charbel able to live here for twenty-three years?’
After St. Charbel was buried in the monastery cemetery, many local villagers reported seeing a dazzling white light emanating from his tomb and radiating throughout the monastery.
After four months had passed, permission to open his grave was granted, and to the astonishment of all present, his body was perfectly preserved.
He was re-clothed and placed in a wooden coffin in the monastery’s chapel. However, liquid exuded from his body’s pores, which was composed of blood and moisture.
Saint Charbel’s body remained intact for 67 years. Today, only his bones remain, but reports of hundreds of cures and miracles have emerged from those who visited his tomb.
St. Charbel’s modern-day miracle: Why thousands gather worldwide on the 22nd of each month
One of the many miracles attributed to Saint Charbel is the healing of Nohad El Shami from Mezarib in Mount Lebanon. At the time of the miracle, Shami was a 55-year-old mother of twelve.
On January 9, 1993, she suffered hemiplegia (paralysis of one side of the body) due to the obstruction and blockage of portions of both her left and right brain arteries.
Her doctors concluded that recovery was unlikely, as no treatment for her condition existed.
Her eldest son, Saad, visited the Sts. Peter and Paul hermitage in Annaya (where Saint Charbel spent most of his days in prayer, silence, and solitude), seeking the saint’s powerful intercession.
He brought back consecrated oil and soil from Saint Charbel’s tomb to give to his mother.
When Nohad returned home, her health did not improve. She spent several days in constant, agonizing pain. However, one night, she dreamed that Saint Charbel gave her Holy Communion while attending Mass in the hermitage in Annaya.
On January 22, 1993, Nohad had another dream. She dreamed of two monks standing beside her bed: one with his hands on her neck as he operated, while the other monk relieved her pain.
When Nohad woke up, she noticed two surgical wounds on her neck and that she could move her whole body again. She was completely and miraculously cured from hemiplegia!
The following night, Saint Charbel again visited her in a dream, saying, “I did the surgery to let people see and return to their faith. I ask you to visit my hermitage in Annaya on the 22nd of every month and attend Mass regularly for the rest of your life.”
All it took was one powerful dream and the miraculous healing of this faith-filled woman to transform the hearts and minds of thousands today.