A saint close to those who suffer

Saint Charbel never left Lebanon. He spent most of his life in prayer, silence and isolation, far from the tumult of the world. Yet thousands of sick people around the world pray to him every day, convinced of his discreet but powerful presence by their side.

After his death, this Maronite monk became one of the most invoked intercessors for healing. His name is whispered in hospitals, care homes, country chapels and great cathedrals alike. He does not heal himself, but he prays. And God listens to his prayers.

Why do so many sick people turn to him?

Because Saint Charbel suffered in silence, because he loved in obscurity, because he offered his whole life for the salvation of souls. He is a brother to those who weep, an invisible companion in the long nights of pain.

Those who pray to him say they feel an inner peace, an unexpected strength. Some receive physical cures, others deep relief in the soul, or the ability to endure hardship with hope.

Saint Charbel attracts the sick because he promises nothing, but because he is there. His simple presence, his gentle, silent figure, remind us that God is close, even in sickness.

A faithful intercessor, even in hopeless cases

Many miracles attributed to Saint Charbel concern human cases considered "lost". People whom medicine could no longer treat. Patients declared incurable. And yet, after sincere prayers and novenas faithfully recited, life sprang back to life. These miracles are not systematic. But they do say something: God can act, and Saint Charbel is a beacon of hope.

We must never stop hoping. To pray to Saint Charbel is to say to God, "I believe that you are still able to touch me today."

Prayer to Saint Charbel for the sick

Saint Charbel,

you who so loved silence and self-effacement,

I entrust to you today the sick I carry in my heart.

You who have known total abandonment to God,

present their pain, their sorrows, their weariness.

Ask the Lord to visit them,

to relieve them, to console them,

and if he wills, to heal them.

Intercede for the carers,

for those who accompany in the night of illness.

Abtain for them patience, peace, and true love.

Saint Charbel, be a light in their darkness,

a breath of hope,

and a faithful friend on this difficult path.

Amen.