Sacred Places of Lebanon
Lebanon is a small country written thickly with prayer. Its mountains shelter monasteries that have been in continuous use since the fourth century. Its valleys were carved by hermits who sought God in silence. Its coast is crowned by a Marian shrine visited by Christians, Muslims, and Druze alike. For the Maronite faithful, these are not historical curiosities. They are living places where the tradition is still prayed and where pilgrims are still welcomed.
The guides below cover the places most often visited by pilgrims, with the history, what to see, and the practical information anyone planning a visit will need.
Pilgrimage Sites
Qadisha Valley
UNESCO Holy Valley
The sacred valley of the Maronites, ancient hermit caves, cliff monasteries, the Cedars of God, and centuries of continuous prayer.
Annaya Monastery
Saint Charbel's home
The Monastery of Saint Maron in Annaya, the hermitage, the tomb of Saint Charbel, and the chapel walls lined with testimonies of miracles.
Our Lady of Lebanon (Harissa)
Marian Shrine
The great white statue above the bay of Jounieh. A national shrine visited by pilgrims of every faith.
The Cedars of God
UNESCO & Biblical
The ancient cedar grove above Bsharri, mentioned over seventy times in the Bible, guarded by the Maronite Church since the sixteenth century.
Hermitage of Saint Charbel
Saints Peter & Paul, Annaya
The stone cell above Annaya where Saint Charbel spent twenty-three years in silence. History, what to see, and how to visit.
Harissa, Lebanon
Our Lady of Lebanon shrine
The pilgrimage hill above Jounieh: the great statue, the basilica, the cable car, and how to visit.
Visiting Annaya
Pilgrim guide & Mass times
How to visit Saint Charbel's tomb and hermitage: getting there, the 22nd of the month, and what to expect.
The Monastery of Saint Maron
Beit Maroun, 5th century
The ancient monastery on the Orontes that gave the Maronite Church its name, and how it differs from Annaya.
Bekaa Kafra
Saint Charbel's birthplace
Lebanon's highest village, the house where Saint Charbel was born, and how to visit near the Cedars.
Our Lady of Qannoubine
Patriarchal seat, 1440 to the 19th century
The cliff monastery of the Qadisha Valley where the Maronite patriarchs lived, governed, and were buried.
Deir Qozhaya
Saint Anthony's monastery of the Qadisha
The great monastery of the Holy Valley: the Middle East's first printing press, the healing cave of Saint Anthony, and the order that formed Saint Charbel.
Ehden
Mountain town of the Maronite north
The summer town above the Qadisha where Mar Mema, commonly dated to 749, still holds Mass, Our Lady watches from the old fort, and Blessed Douaihy was born.
The Saints Who Lived There
Every sacred place in Lebanon is tied to a life. Reading the life gives the place its weight. These profiles gather the essentials.
Saint Charbel Makhlouf
Hermit of Annaya
The hermit whose twenty-three years of silence made Annaya a place of pilgrimage.
Saint Rafqa
Nun of Jrabta
The Lebanese nun whose monastery can be visited in the hills of northern Lebanon.
Saint Maron
Father of the tradition
The fourth-century hermit whose disciples founded the Maronite Church in the Lebanese mountains.
Browse the full article library at charbel.app/blog. New pilgrimage guides, Bkerke, Deir Mar Maroun, Ehden, and more, are in preparation.