Lebanese Catholic Woman Miraculously Healed by St. Charbel Passes Away

Mezarib, Lebanon, May 16, 2025: Nohad El Shami, a Lebanese Maronite Catholic woman renowned for her miraculous healing attributed to St. Charbel in 1993, passed away on May 14, 2025. Hailing from Mezarib in Mount Lebanon, El Shami was married and a mother to 12 children. Her unexpected death marks the end of a life that profoundly inspired faith across Lebanon and beyond.

On the evening of January 9, 1993, El Shami suffered sudden and severe paralysis affecting her left leg, arm, and face. Medical examinations at Saint Maritime Hospital in Jbeil confirmed that she had hemiplegia caused by significant arterial blockages in her brain. Doctors concluded that no conventional treatment or medicine could cure her condition and suggested possible surgery in the future.

Nohad spent the next nine days in the hospital under close medical observation. During this time, her eldest son, Saad, visited the St Peter and St Paul hermitage in Annaya, where St Charbel had lived. There, Saad prayed fervently for his mother's healing and brought back consecrated oil and soil from St Charbel’s tomb. When Nohad’s daughter applied the oil and soil to her body, Nohad miraculously began feeling tingling sensations in her hands and feet and showed signs of recovery.

Severe pain confined Nohad to bed after she returned home from the hospital. One day, while asleep at home, she had a significant dream of walking up the stairs at the St. Peter and St. Paul Hermitage in Annaya, Mount Lebanon, where she attended a mass with monks, and St. Charbel gave her Holy Communion.

A few days later, on the night of January 22, 1993, she had another dream where two Maronite monks were standing beside her bed. One of the monks put his hands on her neck and started operating on her while the other monk relieved her from her pain by holding a pillow behind her back. Upon waking, Nohad found two surgical wounds on each side of her neck. She also noticed she could move her arms and walk on her legs as normal. She was miraculously healed from hemiplegia, regaining full movement.

The next night, Nohad had another dream in which St. Charbel told her he performed her surgery to inspire people to return to their faith. He asked her to visit his hermitage in Annaya on the 22nd of every month and attend Mass regularly for life. The second Maronite monk who was present during the operation of Nohad was St Maroun.

Nohad El Shami’s miraculous healing has inspired thousands in Lebanon and around the world to gather on the 22nd of every month at the St. Peter and St. Paul Hermitage in Annaya to pray and attend Holy Mass. Her passing marks the close of a remarkable chapter of faith, healing, and devotion. May her soul rest in eternal peace.

By Catholic Connect Reporter