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3. Pope Leo’s Speech at the Sanctuary of Saint Charbel

Pope Leo XIV delivered a speech in French on Monday in Annaya, at the sanctuary of Saint Charbel, one of the key stops of his three-day visit in Lebanon. Here’s the English translation brought to you by This is Beirut.  

“Dear brothers and sisters,

I thank the Superior General for his words and for the welcome in this beautiful monastery of Annaya.

The nature surrounding this house of prayer draws us in with its austere beauty.

I give thanks to God for allowing me to come on pilgrimage to the tomb of Saint Charbel. My predecessors—especially Saint Paul VI, who beatified and canonized him—would have greatly wished to do so.

Dear friends, what does Saint Charbel teach us today? What is the legacy of this man who wrote nothing, who lived hidden and silent, yet whose reputation has spread throughout the entire world?

I would summarize it like this: the Holy Spirit shaped him so that he might teach prayer to those who live without God, teach silence to those who live amid noise, teach modesty to those who live for appearances, and teach poverty to those who seek wealth. These attitudes go against the current, but it is precisely for that reason that they attract us—just as fresh, pure water attracts those walking in a desert.

In particular, Saint Charbel reminds us—bishops and ordained ministers—of the Gospel demands of our vocation. His coherence, both radical and humble, is a message for all Christians.

There is also another decisive aspect: Saint Charbel has never ceased to intercede for us before the Heavenly Father, the source of all goodness and grace. Already during his earthly life, many came to him to receive from the Lord comfort, forgiveness, and counsel. After his death, all of this multiplied and became like a river of mercy. It is also for this reason that, every 22nd of the month, thousands of pilgrims come here from different countries to spend a day of prayer and rest for both soul and body.

Brothers and sisters, today we want to entrust to Saint Charbel’s intercession the needs of the Church, of Lebanon, and of the world. For the Church, we ask for communion and unity—from families, the little domestic churches, to parish and diocesan communities, all the way to the universal Church. Communion and unity. And for the world, we ask for peace. We implore it especially for Lebanon and for the entire Levant. But we know well—and the saints remind us—that there is no peace without the conversion of hearts. May Saint Charbel help us turn toward God and ask for the gift of conversion for each one of us.

Dear friends, to symbolize the light that God has kindled here through Saint Charbel, I have brought a lamp as a gift. In offering this lamp, I entrust Lebanon and its people to the protection of Saint Charbel so that they may always walk in the light of Christ.
 

Let us give thanks to God for the gift of Saint Charbel! Thank you to all who keep his memory alive.

Walk in the light of the Lord!”