CHARLOTTE — Custodians of a first-class relic of St. Charbel Makhlouf, a 19th-century Lebanese monk known for performing prolific miracles, will make three stops in the Diocese of Charlotte Nov. 1-8.
St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte, Immaculate Conception Church in Hendersonville and Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro will host the relic. The parishes are encouraging the faithful to venerate the saint whose intercession has been reported to have brought about more than 33,000 miracles – healing everything from hearing loss to cancer.
Charles Longino, operations manager of Our Lady of Grace Parish, explained how the relic tour originated. “A couple that is from Ireland was on a pilgrimage in Europe, befriended monks who live at the monastery where St. Charbel’s relics are housed, and after developing a relationship suggested taking the relics on tour, and the monks agreed,” he said.
The main events will focus on St. Charbel, with the custodians discussing his life and the miracles attributed to his intercession. At Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Grace, his relics will be accompanied by those of St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, St. Philip Neri and St. Philomena.
But the opportunity for prayers lasts longer than the tour, explained Immaculate Conception’s director of operations, Bertha Medina.
“The custodians are bringing with them a prayer box for the faithful to deposit prayer intentions, and at the end of the tour all of those prayer intentions will be taken back to the tomb, which is a documented miracle site,” she said.
“I think this is a great opportunity to reinvigorate that power of intercession, especially walking into the month of November, when we celebrate All Saints,” Medina said. “They might not be physically there with us in this moment of time and space, but we are together.”
St. Ann Church in Charlotte and St. Mark Church in Huntersville also will have veneration of relics from other saints.
— Lisa M. Geraci
Stops in the diocese
- St. Thomas Aquinas Church will display the relic along with other relics from their collection Nov. 7 from 5 to 10 p.m. and Nov. 8 from 8-11 a.m. and 3 to 7 p.m. A presentation about the relics will be held at 5 p.m. Nov. 7. The relics will be displayed in a walking tour allowing visitors to venerate, pray and read about each saint.
- Immaculate Conception Church in Hendersonville will host veneration and a discussion from 7 to 9 p.m. on Nov. 3, after the noon Mass and from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 4, and from 7 to 9 p.m. on Nov. 5.
- Our Lady of Grace in Greensboro will host veneration and a discussion from 6 to 9 p.m. on Nov. 7 and after the 8 a.m. Mass until 11 a.m. on Nov. 8.
Who was St. Charbel?
St. Charbel Makhlouf was born on May 8, 1828, in Biqa-Kafra, northern Lebanon. Joseph, his baptismal name, was the youngest of five children born to a poor but devout family. He left home at 23, entering the Monastery of St. Maron at Annaya. Ordained a priest in 1859, he was noted for his devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. He lived as a hermit, but his reputation for holiness caused people to seek him out. He died on Christmas Eve in 1898.
Soon after his death, an extraordinarily bright light surrounded his grave for more than a month. Monastery officials then requested permission from Church authorities to exhume the body. His corpse, which was found without decay four months after his death, was transferred into a special coffin. Pilgrims started visiting the monastery and asking for his miraculous intercession.
For 67 years St. Charbel’s incorrupt remains exuded a fluid described as supernatural in nature. When he was beatified in 1965, his remains were found to have decayed until only his bones were left, and the mysterious fluid ceased. However, enough had been collected to furnish a supply from which small quantities are still distributed. St. Charbel was canonized in 1977.