Charbel's friends

THE MIRACLES CHOSEN
FOR BEATIFICATION AND CANONIZATION

Among the thousands of miraculous cures attributed to St. Charbel’s intercession, three were chosen to complete the processes of beatification and canonization.

The two miracles for beatification


The miracle of sister Maria Abel Kamari

In 1936, Maria Abel Kamari, a thirty-year old nun, became seriously ill. She had extensive gastric ulcers. After two operations there was no improvement, and the nun was still unable to eat. She developed osteoporosis, lost her teeth, and her right hand was paralyzed. In 1942, her condition had become so serious that she was confined to bed and continually on the verge of death. After receiving the Sacrament of the Sick, Sister Maria began to pray fervently for a healing through St. Charbel’s intercession. On July 11, 1950, at her urgent request, she was taken to the hermit’s tomb. When Sister Maria touched the tomb, she felt something like an electric shock go through her whole body. She dipped her handkerchief in the mysterious fluid which flowed from St. Charbel’s body , and seeped through the marble sarcophagus. Upon daubing the affected parts of her body with the handkerchief, she immediately rose unaided from the stretcher and began to walk normally. Seeing this, the crowd of people began to shout with joy, saying that a miracle had taken place. She was completely healed from that moment on, as detailed medical tests subsequently confirmed.

The miracle of Iskander Obeid

Iskander Obeid was a blacksmith. In 1925, while he was at work in his smithy, a piece of metal severely damaged his right eye. By a strange coincidence, in 1937, again while working, he injured the same eye so badly that he could no longer see through it. Doctors decided to remove the eye. Despite the continuous pain the injured eye caused him, Iskander refused to have it removed. In 1950, he began to pray earnestly to St. Charbel for a cure. One night, he saw the hermit in a dream. The Saint asked him to make a pilgrimage to his tomb in the monastery at Annaya. Iskander made up his mind to go there on October 18. When he arrived, the pain in his eye was unbearable. After confession and receiving Jesus in Holy Communion, Iskander spent a long time in prayer at St. Charbel’s tomb. That night he dreamed he saw St. Charbel blessing him. When he awoke in the morning, he realized to his great joy that the pain had gone and that he could see out of his right eye. A medical board confirmed the fact that there had been a complete and miraculous regeneration of the damaged eye.

The miracle for canonization

Mariam Assai Awad, a Syrian woman living in Lebanon, discovered that she had stomach cancer with secondaries to her intestines and throat. Operations in 1963 and 1965 proved to be of no help. From a medical point of view, Mariam had no prospect of a cure. She was discharged from the hospital and allowed to go home to die. Mariam began to call on St. Charbel’s help. One night in 1967, before going to sleep, she prayed fervently for a complete cure through the Saint’s intercession. When she awoke in the morning she found that all the symptoms of her illness had disappeared. The doctors of the local hospital were amazed to see Mariam moving about unaided. Detailed tests confirmed that she had been inexplicably cured.