St. Charbel Makhlouf (1828 to 1898) was a Lebanese Maronite monk who spent the last 23 years of his life as a hermit in the mountains above Annaya. Catholics around the world ask for his intercession above all when someone is ill, and his tomb in Lebanon has drawn pilgrims seeking healing for more than a century.
This page gives you the traditional prayer to St. Charbel, short prayers for healing you can say today, a nine day novena, and the story of who he was. Asking a saint to intercede means asking him to pray with you and for you to God, the same way you would ask a friend to pray for you.
A word of care: prayer is not a substitute for medical treatment. Keep seeing your doctor and following their advice while you pray.
The Traditional Prayer to St. Charbel
This is the prayer most Maronite parishes and devotees use. Say it slowly, and name your intention where it asks.
Lord, infinitely holy and glorified in Your saints, You inspired Charbel, the saintly monk, to lead the perfect life of a hermit. We thank You for granting him the blessing and the strength to detach himself from the world, so that the heroism of the monastic virtues of poverty, obedience and chastity could triumph in his hermitage. We beg You to grant us the grace of loving and serving You, following his example. Almighty God, who has shown the power of St. Charbel’s intercession through his many miracles and favours, grant us, through his intercession, the grace we ask of You now: (name your intention). Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Follow it with an Our Father, a Hail Mary and a Glory Be, as the Maronite devotion does.
Short Prayers to St. Charbel for Healing
For my own healing
St. Charbel, you lived close to God in silence and suffering. Pray for me in this illness. Ask the Lord to heal my body if it is His will, to steady my mind, and to keep me trusting Him whatever the doctors say. Amen.
For someone who is sick
St. Charbel, I bring you (name), who is ill. Pray for them before the throne of God. Ask Jesus to touch them with His healing, to guide the hands of everyone who cares for them, and to give their family peace while they wait. Amen.
Before surgery
St. Charbel, stay near me as I go into surgery. Pray that the surgeons are clear minded and steady, that the operation goes well, and that I wake to a good recovery. Into God’s hands I place my body and my fear. Amen.
For a difficult or hopeless case
St. Charbel, many have called on you when nothing else was left. I come to you now with this hard situation: (name it). Pray with me to the Father, who can do what I cannot, and help me accept His answer with a humble heart. Amen.
A one line prayer
- St. Charbel, pray for us and for all the sick who have no one to pray for them.
- St. Charbel, intercede for (name), and ask Jesus to heal them.
- St. Charbel, teach me to be still and to trust God in this.
St. Charbel Novena for Healing
A novena is nine consecutive days of prayer for one intention. For the St. Charbel novena, pray the traditional prayer above each day, name your intention, then add the day’s short reflection and finish with an Our Father, a Hail Mary and a Glory Be.
- Day 1, faith: St. Charbel, you trusted God from childhood. Strengthen my faith while I wait.
- Day 2, surrender: You left everything to follow Christ. Help me let go of what I cannot control.
- Day 3, silence: You listened for God in stillness. Quiet my anxious thoughts so I can hear Him.
- Day 4, the Eucharist: You loved the Mass above all. Draw me and the one I pray for closer to Jesus.
- Day 5, suffering: You bore hardship without complaint. Help me carry this illness with patience.
- Day 6, mercy: Ask God to forgive my sins and to heal what is broken in me, body and soul.
- Day 7, the sick: Pray for every sick person, especially those who are alone.
- Day 8, the family: Pray for the family and the caregivers who carry this with us.
- Day 9, thanksgiving: I thank God for every grace already given, and I leave my request in His hands.
Many people pray this novena from 15 to 23 July, so that it ends on the eve of his feast day on 24 July. You can begin it on any day.
Who Was St. Charbel?
He was born Youssef Antoun Makhlouf on 8 May 1828 in Bekaa Kafra, a mountain village in northern Lebanon. In 1851 he joined the Lebanese Maronite Order and took the name Charbel, after an early Christian martyr. He was ordained a priest in 1859 and lived for years in community at the Monastery of St. Maron in Annaya.
In 1875 he was allowed to withdraw to the Hermitage of Saints Peter and Paul above the monastery, where he lived for 23 years in prayer, fasting, manual work and near total silence. He died on 24 December 1898. Pope Paul VI beatified him in 1965 and canonised him on 9 October 1977. The Maronite Church is an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with Rome, so St. Charbel is a saint of the whole Catholic Church.
Why People Pray to St. Charbel for Healing
Reports of healing began soon after his death, when his tomb became a place of pilgrimage. The best known recent case is Nohad El Shami, who said she was healed of partial paralysis on 22 January 1993 after dreaming of St. Charbel. Since then, pilgrims gather at the hermitage in Annaya on the 22nd of every month to pray and attend Mass.
The Church examines healings attributed to a saint carefully before it recognises them, and it never treats a saint as a guarantee. Praying to St. Charbel is asking a holy man to pray with you. The answer belongs to God.
What Scripture Says
“The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” James 5:16 (NIV)
“Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them.” James 5:14 (NIV)
“Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10 (NIV)
St. Charbel’s life was an answer to that last verse. The stillness of the hermitage is why so many people find it natural to bring their fears to him.
Can I Send a Prayer to St. Charbel’s Tomb?
St. Charbel is buried at the Monastery of St. Maron in Annaya, Lebanon. Holy Land Prayer does not send prayers there. To reach the monastery or the shrine in Annaya, contact them directly.
What we do is carry prayers to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. You can write your prayer asking for St. Charbel’s intercession, and we will print it and place it inside one of the chapels of the church, where a priest prays it in English. We light a candle on your behalf and email you photographs of both.
See how Holy Land Prayer works or our Catholic prayer request page.
Questions People Ask
What is the miracle prayer to St. Charbel?
People usually mean the traditional prayer at the top of this page, which asks God to grant a grace through St. Charbel’s intercession. There is no special wording that works like a formula. God hears a simple, sincere prayer just as well.
What is St. Charbel known for?
He is known for his hidden life of prayer as a hermit and for the many healings attributed to his intercession, which is why he is invoked above all for the sick.
When is St. Charbel’s feast day?
24 July in the Roman calendar. The Maronite Church celebrates him on the third Sunday of July.
Where is St. Charbel buried?
At the Monastery of St. Maron in Annaya, in the mountains of Lebanon.
Why do pilgrims go to Annaya on the 22nd of the month?
Because Nohad El Shami’s healing is dated 22 January 1993. Since then, the 22nd of each month has been a day of prayer and Mass at the hermitage.
Can non Catholics pray to St. Charbel?
Anyone can ask him to pray for them. Many Orthodox Christians and people of other backgrounds visit his tomb and ask his help.
Who Writes These Prayers
The Holy Land Prayer team writes the short prayers and novena reflections on this page. The traditional prayer to St. Charbel is the one used in Maronite devotion. The facts about his life follow the record of his beatification and canonisation.
Last reviewed 28 September 2026 by the Holy Land Prayer team.
Related Prayers
Catholic Prayers for Healing
Traditional Catholic prayers for the sick and for healing.
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Browse the full Prayer Library.
