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The Story of Saint Charbel
A true story told in simple words: the boy from Lebanon's highest mountains who became a monk, a priest, and the hermit of Annaya, and who is now loved as a saint all over the world.
Short answer: This is the new illustrated Saint Charbel storybook for children ages 5 to 12: a sourced ten-page, read-aloud story about the boy from Bekaa Kafra who became a monk, a priest and the hermit of Annaya. It ends with narrated points of reflection to talk about together.
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Evidence for This Page
Read-aloud narration by an openly licensed voice model. Illustrations are original composite scenes, not historical footage.
About Saint Charbel Makhlouf
- Lived
- 1828-1898
- Place
- Bekaa Kafra and Annaya, Lebanon
- Status
- Canonized October 9, 1977, by Pope Paul VI
- Feast
- July 24 (Roman calendar); third Sunday of July (Maronite calendar)
Youssef Makhlouf was a farmer's son from the mountain village of Bekaa Kafra in North Lebanon. His father died when he was three. At 23 he left home to become a monk of the Lebanese Maronite Order and took the name Charbel. He was ordained a priest on July 23, 1859.
For many years he lived in the community at the Monastery of Saint Maron at Annaya. From 1875 he lived as a hermit nearby, in prayer, fasting and manual work. He died on December 24, 1898, eight days after he was taken ill while celebrating Mass. Crowds came to his tomb afterward, Christians and Muslims alike. Pope Paul VI beatified him in 1965 and canonized him in 1977.
About this story
These scenes are imaginative illustrations, not historical footage. The shepherd boy's grotto and the lamp of water are traditions handed down with love, and the book says so on its own pages. His illness and death are told gently and without graphic detail. The final narrated page offers one question, one Bible verse, one small action, and a short prayer.
Sources: 1977 canonization homily, 1965 beatification address, the Monastery of Saint Maron archive, and a biography cross-check.