Monastery

About The Monastery

Monastery of Saint Joseph - Tomb of Saint Rafqa.

The Monastery of Saint Joseph - Tomb of Saint Rafqa, is situated at an altitude of 350 meters at the foot of Mount Jrabta, in the Batroun district of north Lebanon.

The mother Superior of the monastery of Saint Simon the Stylites - al-Qarn, in Aito, a village situated at 1,150 meters above sea level, in a region known for its severe winter climate, sent one of her nuns, Sister Ursula Doumit, who was suffering from rheumatism, to spend the winter in her home village of Maad.

Father Ignatius Doumit al-Maadi, a brother of Sister Ursula, suggested building a monastery for the nuns. He reached agreement with Father John Basbous al-Maadi, who as early as 1865 had built a school in the village of Jrabta. By this agreement, Father Basbous donated the school and its property and Father Ignatius assumed financial responsibility for the construction of a new monastery in the region to be given to the Order of the Lebanese Maronite Nuns.

On February 29, 1896, Patriarch John Haje (1890-1898) granted his approval and work on the new building began in March. On August 15, 1897, Father Martin (Martinos) Shemali, Superior General (1895- 1899) of the Lebanese Maronite Order, accepted the bequest.

This monastery, which bore the name of Saint Joseph ad-Dahr, was intended for the nuns. On October 22, 1897, Patriarch John Haje confirmed the pious legacy and the monastery was given to the Order.

On November 3, 1897, six nuns from the Monastery of Saint Simon the Stylites, al-Qarn, including Sister Ursula Doumit and Sister Rafqa Shubuq al-Rayees (Saint Rafqa) of Himlaya were transferred to the new monastery of Saint Joseph and Thus the monastery was canonically established.

The six nuns led a contemplative cenobitic life. With the help of monks from the Lebanese Maronite Order they planted olive, fig trees and vines. They also devoted themselves to certain forms of manual work, such as weaving and the making of liturgical vestments. Vocations to the religious life in the monastery flourished. Since the foundation of the monastery the sisters continue to be actively engaged in their mission of prayer and work.

Sister Rafqa (1832-1914), who bore terrible suffering with patience and forbearance, stands out in the history of the monastery. After her death, a number of miracles occurred through her intercession and the earth of her tomb has become a source of divine graces and of many remarkable cures.

In 1926 the Order petitioned the Vatican for her beatification. Her reputation spread widely and the faithful flocked to the place of her burial seeking relics and her intercession.

On November 17, 1985, Pope [Saint] John Paul II (1978 ... 2005) proclaimed the beatification of Sister Rafqa and her Canonization on June 10, 2001, and the monastery became a well-known sanctuary throughout the world.

On May 24, 1949, the Order decided to build a rest home, adjacent to the monastery, for elderly monks. Starting in 1980 elderly lay people were also admitted to the rest home and the nuns transformed one of the rooms into a free medical dispensary for the region.

In August of 1987, ninety years after they had taken over the monastery, with the encouragement and advice of Father Emmanuel Khoury, Superior General of the Lebanese Maronite Order, (1992 – 1993), the nuns decided to build a new two story-wing as an extension to the old monastery.

Now by virtue of the new Statutes of the Lebanese Maronite Nuns, the monastery receives postulants and religious vocations are flourishing.

At the present time the monks of the Lebanese Maronite Order, with the help of the nuns, look after this sanctuary, so that the visitors may find a place of prayer and encounter with God through the intercession of Saint Rafqa.