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“Devotion to St. Charbel is emerging in a new way,” notes Samer Nassif, chorepiscopus (Marionite auxiliary bishop) of the Diocese of Sidon in Lebanon. Based in France for several years and commissioned by his archbishop as preacher of Saint Charbel, he was present in Lebanon to welcome the Pope.
Leo XIV began his trip to Lebanon on Sunday, November 30, after spending three days in Turkey. On Monday, December 1, at 9:45 a.m. (8:45 a.m. in Rome), Pope Leo XIV prayed at the tomb of St. Charbel. The saint is buried at the Monastery of St. Maroun in Annaya, about 30 miles from the capital.
This is a first for a Pope, although several recent popes visited the country. Paul VI beatified and canonized Charbel Makhlouf, but he only made a stopover in Beirut in 1964 before his journey to India. John Paul II and Benedict XVI visited Lebanon in 1997 and 2012, but didn’t visit the St. Maroun monastery. As for Francis, he was unable to fulfill his wish to visit the Land of the Cedars.
With this second stage of Leo XIV’s first apostolic journey, “there is something new,” says Chorepiscopus Samer Nassif. He sees a major turning point in devotion to St. Charbel, led by the Pope:
“By praying through the intercession of St. Charbel at the Monastery of Saint Maroun in front of the whole world, Pope Leo XIV invites all Catholics to go and see St. Charbel and to invoke him in turn.”
A step beyond what past pontiffs have done
Aleteia: What relationship did previous popes have with St. Charbel?
Chorepiscopus Samer Nassif: Paul VI was the first pope to love St. Charbel. He beatified him at the close of the Second Vatican Council in 1965 and then canonized him in 1977. Before him, no pope had dared to beatify St. Charbel. He is the first Eastern saint of the second millennium.
John Paul II and Benedict XVI didn’t particularly highlight him. But with Leo XIV, there’s something new. The fact that he’s beginning his pastoral visit by going to pray at his tomb — and I say “pastoral” because Sunday is usually reserved for meetings with political figures — is a strong sign.
What do you see in this?
Chorepiscopus Nassif: By visiting the tomb of St. Charbel in front of the whole world, Leo XIV isn’t only praying in a personal capacity. He’s telling the whole Church that the monastery of St. Maroun is a great place of pilgrimage. He’s inviting all Catholics to go and see this saint, to pray to him too.
I think St. Charbel will play a role in the pontificate of Leo XIV. I’m prophesying, but there are signs!
Signs of a special connection
What signs?
Chorepiscopus Nassif: Look at the dates: Leo XIV was elected on May 8, the day of St. Charbel's birth (May 8, 1828, editor's note). And Leo (Léon in French, editor's note) is an anagram of Noël (Christmas), and St. Charbel died on Christmas Eve, on the evening of December 24, 1898.
But beyond the dates, Leo XIV and St. Charbel are united around a message of peace. Pope Leo XIV's first words were words of peace: “Peace be with you all!” He then spoke of “unarmed and disarming peace.” Peace is beginning to take shape in Lebanon; there is a glimmer of peace.
How are you feeling about the Pope's visit?
Chorepiscopus Nassif: It’s a great joy. Leo XIV will strengthen the Christian community in Lebanon. He’ll shine a light on this Lebanon that loves God, venerates the saints, and cares for the poor and the sick — I’m thinking in particular of his visit to the La Croix psychiatric hospital in Jal ed Dib scheduled for Tuesday morning.
It was a surprise to everyone that he went to pray at the tomb of St. Charbel. By invoking the intercession of St. Charbel, he fully restores Jesus' place as Savior. Because we pray to God through the intercession of St. Charbel and St. Charbel prays with us, God sends graces, God saves. [...] This is a source of great hope for the world.
