Every year, thousands of pilgrims, Christians and Muslims alike, travel to Annaya, Lebanon to pray at the tomb of Saint Charbel Makhlouf.

This morning, December 1, Pope Leo XIV was among them.

At the main entrance to the Monastery of St. Maroun, which houses the tomb, the Pope was greeted by the monastery's superior and the Superior General of the Lebanese Maronite Order, as well as Lebanon's President and First Lady.

The Pope then prayed in silence before St. Charbel’s tomb, before a welcome speech was given by the Superior General, Abbot Mahfouz Hady.

In his own address, delivered in French, the Pope reflected on St. Charbel—“who lived hidden and silent, yet whose fame spread throughout the world”.

The Pope said the hermit had been “shaped by the Holy Spirit” to teach “prayer to those who live without God, silence to those who live amid noise, modesty to those who live for appearances, and poverty to those who pursue riches.”

A call for peace

In a country which since 2019 has been mired in a severe crisis—currency collapse, widespread poverty, failing public services, the 2020 Beirut port explosion, and ongoing conflict with Israel—the Pope brought a message of hope and peace.

“We ask for peace,” he said. “We implore it especially for Lebanon and for the whole Levant. But we know—and the saints remind us—that there is no peace without the conversion of hearts.”

Pope Leo XIV thus entrusted the needs of the Church, Lebanon, and the world to Saint Charbel’s intercession.

A recitation of a prayer to Saint Charbel and a papal blessing brought an end to the ceremony, which was attended by Lebanon’s President, Joseph Aoun, and his wife.

A gift from the Pope

Pope Leo then presented the monastery with a handcrafted silver-bronze votive lamp.

“In offering this lamp,” the Pope said, “I entrust Lebanon and its people to the protection of Saint Charbel, that they may always walk in the light of Christ. Let us thank God for the gift of Saint Charbel! And thank you for preserving his memory. Walk in the light of the Lord!”