Miracles

Saint Sharbel's Miracles

Since the time of His Incarnation, our Lord Jesus Christ, is the source of all miracles as clearly seen in the New Testament. Furthermore, the holy ones “who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God… and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him” (Romans 8:14-18). During his life, Saint Sharbel detached himself from earthly things and offered his whole being to God. Since childhood he would dedicate his spare time to prayer, and by the example of his two uncles he was drawn to the monastic life.

He spent 23 years of his life as a lay person, another 23 as a monk and then priest, and the last 23 years of his life as a hermit. He would sleep a few hours a day, spend hours preparing for the Divine Liturgy, work prayerfully in the fields, and immerse himself in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and in meditation on the Lord’s word. He lived in poverty, silence, obedience, fast and abstinence. He bore insults and humiliation with love for others.

Miracles during his life: God communicated to St. Sharbel at various times influence over animals (locusts, snakes…); he also healed the sick, interceded for a barren woman to conceive, exorcised demons, and was instrumental in the spiritual conversions of others.

Miracles adopted for the beatification and canonization of Father Sharbel. Please see Biography page.

More Miracles

More than 33,000 healing miracles have been reported to date in the records of the Monastery of Saint Maron-Annaya. In addition, there are countless thousands of miracles reported in Lebanon and abroad that do not appear in these records.

Letters of Miracles and the flags of its Countries of Origin. Image by Naanouh Productions

Above all, the grace of a true repentance is the most essential and significant work of the Spirit. The Shrine of Saint Sharbel in Lebanon is considered one of the most important among the international shrines. In this holy place, sanctified by the presence of St. Sharbel, one witnesses frequently the grace of conversion and repentance and reconciliation with God and the gift of a conscience freed from the burden of sin.

Jesus is still alive, healing the wounds of the suffering humanity, forgiving its sins that cause its inevitable death, and giving it eternal life. (“Saint Sharbel From his Contemporaries to our Era”, by Father Hanna Skandar)

News and information about the graces and miracles of Saint Sharbel are still flowing to Saint Maron Monastery, in Annaya, where Saint Sharbel’s tomb is located. About 4.5 million visitors a year come to Annaya in Lebanon to pray and seek the Saint’s intercession.

People Visiting the Hermitage of Saint Sharbel in Annaya, Lebanon. Image by Fr. Shadi Beshara

People During a Procession at The Shrine of Saint Sharbel in Annaya, Lebanon. . Image by Fr. Shadi Beshara

Saint Sharbel is a great intercessor who develops a true relationship with those asking for his intercession with faith and prayer. Many times, this leads to a miracle through God’s will.

Nohad El Shamy

A great number of miracles have been attributed to Saint Sharbel since his death. The most famous one is that of Nohad El Shami, a 55-year old (at the time of the miracle) mother of 12, who was healed from a partial paralysis [she suffered from a left hemiplegia, affecting her leg, arm and mouth].

She recounts that on January 9, 1993, she saw in her dream two Maronite monks standing next to her bed. One of them put his hands on her neck and operated on her, relieving her from her pain while the other put a pillow behind her back. When she woke up, Nohad discovered two wounds in her neck, one on each side, and was completely healed. The following night, Saint Sharbel said to her in a dream:

“… I cut you by the Power of God so they (the people) could see you, because some people have strayed away from praying, from attending church and from respecting the saints, and you cannot do anything to people! But whoever needs anything from me, I, Father Sharbel, am always present in the hermitage. I ask you to visit the hermitage on the 22nd of each month and attend the Divine Liturgy, as long as you live.”

Nohad El Shami

Other Graces and Healings

Since 1950 and up to the present day, the monks of Saint Maron Monastery in Annaya, have not ceased to register the graces attributed to the intercession of Saint Sharbel. The miracles he performed are countless and are kept in the Monastery’s archives.

It is worth mentioning that these miracles, which span the whole world including people of various faith traditions (Christians, Muslims …), would only be registered after their authenticity was scrutinized after they were judged to be worthy of belief. Most of the physical healings fall within the domain of incurable and malignant diseases and the manner in which the healing took place differs from one case to another. There are those who were healed through prayer, others through blessed oil or incense, or by wearing a blessed belt or garb, or by participating in the Divine Liturgy at the Saint’s tomb or at the hermitage, or through praying the novena to Saint Sharbel. These healings always go beyond the physical aspects and touch the souls of those affected, drawing them back from sin toward God.

A common thread running through all these miracles is a belief in the power of Jesus Christ working through the intercession of his faithful servant, Saint Sharbel.

Hundreds of documented (complete medical reports) miracles are being registered every year (up to the present day) at the monastery of Annaya (where St Sharbel’s tomb is located). On specific occasions (like the saint’s feast days & other), the monks at the monastery have reported distributing holy communion to 300,000 faithful. Over the last 22 years, the “phenomenon” of Saint Sharbel has been covered by various types of conventional and social media. Reports and books about him exist in dozens of languages (Arabic, Russian, Polish, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, French…).

A registered Healing of Yasine Nidal Jaber, a Muslim Sunni from Lebanon. Image by Naanouh Productions

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