In a meeting with young people in front of the Patriarchate of Antioch, Pope Leo XIV said, "Consider the many Lebanese saints. What singular beauty we see in the life of St. Rafqa, as she endured years of suffering from illness with strength and gentleness! How many acts of compassion performed by Bl. Yakub El-Haddad as he helped those abandoned and forgotten by everyone!"
These two saints are well-known in Lebanon, but are not widely known by the Western world.
St. Rafqa
Born on June 29, 1832, in Lebanon, Rafqa was urged by her relatives to marry at the age of 14, but she refused all proposals. She felt called to spend her life dedicated to God, and one day fled to the local convent. Through a series of events she joined what is now known as the Order of St. Anthony of the Maronites.
Rafqa then prayed to God that she could suffer like Jesus, and she became crippled and blind for the rest of her life. She led a life of holiness, and after her death many miracles have been attributed to her intercession.
Bl. Yakub El-Haddad
Also known as, Bl. Jacques Ghazir Haddad, Yakub was born in 1875 in Ghazir, Lebanon, and after graduating from college, he went to Alexandria, Egypt, to teach Arabic. It was there that he was drawn to the priesthood and eventually entered the Franciscan Capuchin Convent in Khashbau. He was ordained a priest for the Franciscans in 1901.
According to his Vatican biography, Yakub's ministry in Lebanon consisted of preaching throughout the small country:
As an itinerant preacher from 1903 to 1914 he walked all over Lebanon proclaiming the Word of God and was given the name "the Apostle of Lebanon." He was also seen preaching in Syria, Palestine, Iraq and Turkey.
In 1919 he bought a piece of land on the hill of Jall-Eddib, north of Beirut, where he built a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of the Sea. Nearby he erected a great Cross.
Later on he worked tirelessly for the sick, poor and suffering, founding various hospitals, such as the La Croix Hospital in Jal Ed Dib, and died on June 26, 1954.
Pope Leo visited La Croix, and he mentioned how Blessed Yakub "is remembered for the holiness of life that he showed especially through his love for the poorest and the suffering."
