From the desk of the Tar Heel disciple:
July 27, 2026 (#119)
St. Charbel Makhlouf and the Church’s Rich Heritage
July 24 is the feast day of this Lebanese saint of the Maronite Church. He was a monk and priest whose holiness was recognized by Pope Saint Paul VI, who beatified him in 1965 and canonized him in 1977. He was born in Lebanon in 1828 and died there in 1898. He lived the last 23 years of his life as a hermit and, especially since his death, has gained a wide reputation for healings and other miracles attributed to his intercession.
The veneration of this increasingly popular saint from Lebanon is a reminder of the rich liturgical heritage of the Catholic Church. The Maronite Church is one of the 24 autonomous Churches that together form the universal Catholic Church. Each of these particular Churches, with their own laws, hierarchy, and traditions, celebrates one of the six major liturgical rites which the Church in her wisdom has been solicitous, especially in more recent years, to preserve. All of them are in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. And any Catholic who is spiritually prepared is free to assist at and receive the sacraments in any of these Churches.
The largest of these Churches, the Latin Catholic Church, celebrating in the Roman rite, constitutes approximately 98% of Catholics worldwide. (It might be noted here that there exist other, much smaller, rites of the Western Church, e.g., the Ambrosian and Mozarabic rites). The Byzantine rite is used by 14 Eastern Catholic Churches, including the Ukrainian Greek Catholic, Melkite Greek Catholic, and Ruthenian Catholic Churches. The Armenian rite is used exclusively by the Armenian Catholic Church. The Alexandrian rite is celebrated by the Coptic Catholic, Ethiopian Catholic, and Eritrean Catholic Churches. The East Syrian (or Chaldean) rite is utilized by the Chaldean Catholic Church and the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. And, finally, the West Syrian, also known as Antiochene rite, is the liturgical heritage of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church and also the Maronite Catholic Church, to which Saint Charbel belonged.
Because of international migration, especially in modern times, many members of these ancient Churches, with deep roots in their native lands and devotion to their ancient rites and traditions, now find themselves settled in countries far from their original homelands. This has caused the bishops of the various hierarchies to seek ways to serve the members of these Churches in nations which are not indigenous to them but have now become their home. In North Carolina, for example, this explains the existence of new churches and missions serving these populations with the liturgies of their ancient rites. And so, the universal nature of the Catholic Church is now made more explicitly and physically manifest in the Tar Heel state.
St. Charbel, the holy hermit of Lebanon, belongs to all Catholics!
As do all the saints of all the Catholic rites and Churches…
