Nohad El Shami: The Healing Behind the 22nd of the Month
In January 1993, a Lebanese mother of twelve named Nohad El Shami was left partially paralyzed by a stroke. She reported that Saint Charbel appeared to her in a dream and operated on her - and she awoke healed. Her account is the origin of the worldwide 22nd-of-the-month pilgrimage, and the best-known Saint Charbel healing of modern times.
The Person Before
Nohad El Shami lived in Mezarib, in Mount Lebanon, a Maronite Catholic mother of twelve children. On January 9, 1993, at the age of fifty-five, she suffered a stroke caused by blocked cerebral arteries. The diagnosis was hemiplegia - paralysis of half her body - and her doctors, by the account retold ever since, offered no hope of recovery: there was no treatment possible. Her eldest son, Saad, made the journey to Annaya, prayed at Saint Charbel's tomb and hermitage, and brought home blessed oil and soil from the grave.
What Happened
The family anointed Nohad with the oil. Then, in the night of January 22, 1993, she had the dream that changed everything - and her telling of it has never varied. Saint Charbel appeared to her accompanied by another monk, and performed surgery on her neck. She awoke to find two small scars on her neck - and her paralysis gone. She could move. She could walk.
In the dream, she reported, the saint gave her an instruction: "I performed the surgery to help people regain their faith. I ask you to visit my hermitage in Annaya on the 22nd of every month and attend Mass regularly for the rest of your life." We quote her testimony as she gave it; it is her account, preserved in the tradition.
Watch: Nohad Tells Her Story
Nohad recounting the night of her healing, and an archival report on the case. More video reports on our videos page.
The Evidence
Nohad's case rests on her testimony, her family's, and the physical marks she showed - the two small scars on her neck. It was not put through the formal medical tribunal that examines miracles in a canonization cause, and this site does not present it as such. What is documented beyond dispute is the life that followed: a woman the family says was paralyzed returned to full activity, and from February 1993 she kept her promise - climbing to the hermitage at Annaya on the 22nd of every month, in every weather, until her death in May 2025, more than thirty years later.
How the Church Treated It
The Church has never formally declared Nohad's healing a miracle - that verdict belongs to tribunals, and her case was never sent to one. What the Church, and specifically the Lebanese Maronite Order at Annaya, did do was receive her: her account was recorded, her monthly pilgrimage was welcomed, and the 22nd-of-the-month devotion that grew from her promise became an established part of the shrine's life, with Mass and, weather permitting, a Eucharistic procession every month. Father Louis Matar of the Order, who records the miracles attributed to Saint Charbel, has put the monthly pilgrimage at up to 30,000 people - Christians, Druze, Hindus, and Muslims alike.
What It Means for Pilgrims Today
Every 22nd of the month, the crowds at Annaya are walking in Nohad's footsteps - literally: the route from the monastery up to the hermitage is the climb she made for three decades. Her story is also why the blessed oil means what it means to so many families: it was the oil and soil her son carried home. And her instruction - as she reported it - was not about her at all: it was about faith, the hermitage, and the Mass. The full guide to keeping the day, at Annaya or at home, is on our 22nd of the month page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Nohad El Shami?
A Lebanese Maronite mother of twelve from Mezarib, Mount Lebanon. Paralyzed by a stroke in January 1993, she reported being healed after dreaming that Saint Charbel operated on her - the account behind the 22nd-of-the-month pilgrimage. She died in May 2025.
Is Nohad El Shami's healing officially recognized as a miracle?
No. It was never submitted to a formal Church tribunal. It is a testimony - recorded at the monastery and retold by her consistently for over thirty years - not a Church-declared miracle like the three recognized in Saint Charbel's cause.
What did Saint Charbel say to Nohad in her dream?
By her testimony: 'I performed the surgery to help people regain their faith. I ask you to visit my hermitage in Annaya on the 22nd of every month and attend Mass regularly for the rest of your life.' We report this as her account.
Why do pilgrims go to Annaya on the 22nd of the month?
Because Nohad kept that promise - visiting the hermitage every 22nd from February 1993 until her death in 2025 - and tens of thousands joined her. The monastery now holds Mass and a procession every 22nd.
Did Nohad El Shami really have scars after her dream?
She showed two small scars on her neck which she said appeared after the dream surgery. That is her testimony and her family's; it was not examined by a medical tribunal.