The Three Miracles That Made Him a Saint

In a cause for sainthood, a reported healing is not enough. The Church's process sends the case to physicians first - could any natural cause explain it? - then to theologians, and finally to the Pope, who alone declares a miracle attributed to the candidate's intercession. Two approved miracles are required for beatification, and one more for canonization. Of the tens of thousands of healings attributed to Saint Charbel, three passed that gauntlet. Everything else on this site, however well documented, belongs to the other category: testimony.

A religious of the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts, Sister Maria Abel Kamari had been ill since 1936 with a stomach condition that two operations failed to cure; she spent years bedridden. In July 1950 she was carried to Saint Charbel's tomb at Annaya - and returned home walking and eating. Physicians examined the recovery and found no natural explanation. The Church accepted it as the first miracle for the beatification, which Pope Paul VI celebrated on December 5, 1965, at the close of the Second Vatican Council.

A blacksmith from Baabdat, Iskandar Naim Obeid had been blind in one eye for more than a decade, since a metal fragment struck it at work; treatment had done nothing. On pilgrimage to Annaya in 1950 he prayed at the tomb - and, he reported, dreamed that night of a monk who touched his eye. He woke with his sight restored. Again the doctors could find no natural explanation, and the Church accepted the healing as the second miracle for the beatification.

Mariam Assaf Awad underwent several operations for cancer between 1963 and 1965, and the disease returned. By 1967 her condition was considered grave. One night she prayed for a complete cure through Saint Charbel's intercession - and within days her symptoms were gone. Detailed medical testing confirmed a recovery her doctors could not account for. The Congregation for the Causes of Saints accepted it as the miracle for canonization, and on October 9, 1977, Pope Paul VI - the same pope who had beatified him - declared Charbel a saint.

Archival footage from the 1965 beatification ceremony. More video reports on our videos page.

The three approved miracles are the Church's gold standard, but they were never the point for the people involved: a bedridden nun, a half-blind blacksmith, a woman dying of cancer - ordinary people who prayed at a monk's grave. That is the pattern pilgrims still follow at the tomb today. And the distinction this page draws is the one this whole site keeps: three healings the Church has declared, tens of thousands it has simply received - like Nohad El Shami's - with gratitude and without a verdict.

What miracles were approved for Saint Charbel's canonization?

One: the 1967 healing of Mariam Assaf Awad from cancer, accepted by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Two earlier healings - Sister Maria Abel Kamari and Iskandar Naim Obeid, both in 1950 - were approved for his beatification in 1965.

Who was healed in Saint Charbel's approved miracles?

Sister Maria Abel Kamari, a bedridden religious (1950); Iskandar Naim Obeid, a blacksmith blind in one eye (1950); and Mariam Assaf Awad, a cancer patient (1967). Each recovery was examined by physicians who found no natural explanation.

How does the Church approve a miracle?

Physicians first examine whether any natural cause could explain the recovery; theologians then assess the case; finally the Pope declares the miracle. Two approved miracles support beatification and one more supports canonization.

Are the other Saint Charbel miracles fake?

No - they are simply unadjudicated. Tens of thousands of testimonies are recorded at Annaya, many with medical documentation, but only three went through the full formal process. The distinction is about examination, not sincerity.

Who canonized Saint Charbel?

Pope Paul VI, on October 9, 1977 - the same pope who had beatified him on December 5, 1965, at the close of the Second Vatican Council.

• Monastery of Saint Maron, Annaya: the saint's biography and the accounts underlying the three recognized miracles
• Holy See: Pope Paul VI's homily at the canonization, October 9, 1977
• Vatican State, Saint of the Day: Saint Charbel Makhlouf - beatification 1965, canonization 1977