Maronite Prayers & Novenas
Maronite prayer is ancient. Its roots reach back to the Aramaic-speaking communities of the early Church, and its traditional texts carry phrases that are older than most of the prayers known in the Latin West. Yet the prayers themselves are simple. They are meant to be prayed in a kitchen, at a bedside, in the pew of a country church, and in the silence of a hermit's cell.
The articles below gather the traditional Maronite prayers most often asked for: the novena to Saint Charbel, the prayer for healing, and the Maronite rosary. Each includes the full text, the story behind the prayer, and practical guidance on when and how to pray it.
The Prayers
Novena to Saint Charbel in Arabic
تساعية مار شربل
The full nine days in Arabic with transliteration and a printable PDF, as the novena is prayed at Annaya and at home.
Novena to Saint Charbel
9-Day Prayer
The complete nine-day novena, daily prayer, Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, with guidance on making an intention and stories of answered prayer.
Saint Charbel Prayer for Healing
Traditional Prayer
The prayer asked for in sickness and suffering, with the story of the holy oil from Annaya and how it has been used by pilgrims.
The Maronite Rosary
Prayer Guide
The rosary as prayed in the Maronite tradition. The four sets of mysteries, the Maronite additions, and the rhythm of the prayer.
Prayer for Anxiety
Prayers & Scripture
The Jesus Prayer, the Desert Fathers' practice, prayers of the saints, and Scripture for anxious hearts, rooted in the Maronite tradition of stillness.
Prayer for Students & Exams
For Study Season
Aquinas' prayer before study, a thirty-second prayer before an exam, and Saint Charbel for the season, with a prayer for parents.
Prayer for Stress
Prayers for Relief
Come to me, all you who labor. Prayers of surrender, the Jesus Prayer, and Scripture for the overwhelmed, with a short prayer for before work.
Prayer for Peace
Inner Peace
The Peace Prayer of Saint Francis, the Rite of Peace in the Maronite liturgy, and prayers for a quiet heart and a wounded world. Full texts.
How to Grow Closer to God
The Maronite Way
Saint Charbel's rhythm of work, prayer, and silence, scaled to an ordinary life. A simple daily rule, the 22nd devotion, and prayers.
Prayer for Purpose & Direction
Finding Your Path
Prayers for discernment and unclear seasons, with the story of how a shepherd boy from Bekaa Kafra heard his call.
Prayer for Sleep
Bedtime Prayers
Compline, the Guardian Angel prayer, Psalm 91, and the Maronite Sutoro night office, with full texts and Scripture for rest.
Prayer for Grief
Prayers for Mourning
The Sutoro of the Departed, Psalm 23, Our Lady of Sorrows, and the Maronite rhythm of the 3rd, 9th, and 40th day. Full texts.
Litany of Saint Charbel
Traditional Litany
The responsive prayer invoking Saint Charbel under his many titles. Full text, a short history, and guidance for praying it.
Catholic Morning Prayers
Morning Offering & Safro
The Morning Offering, the morning Psalms, the Benedictus, and the Maronite Safro. Full texts and a simple daily routine.
Prayer for Strength
Prayers for Hard Times
Prayers and Scripture for when you have nothing left, from the Catholic and Maronite traditions. Full texts.
Prayer for Protection
Prayers for Safety
The Saint Michael prayer, Psalm 91, the Guardian Angel prayer, and prayers to guard your home and family. Full texts.
Prayer for Forgiveness
Prayers for Mercy
The Act of Contrition, Psalm 51, the Jesus Prayer, and the grace to forgive those who have hurt you. Full texts.
Prayer for Marriage
Prayers for Couples
Prayers for a husband, a wife, a marriage under strain, and newlyweds, with the Maronite crowning and Tobias and Sarah's prayer. Full texts.
Prayer for Parenting
For every season of raising children
Catholic and Maronite prayers for parents, from a newborn's crib to a child far from home, with the forehead blessing Lebanese mothers have traced for generations.
Prayers to Saint Charbel
The complete devotion
Every prayer to the hermit of Annaya in one place: the daily prayer, healing prayer, novena, and litany.
Saint Charbel Prayer for a Miracle
For urgent needs
The prayer for a miracle, how to make a request, and the tradition of Saint Charbel's documented healings.
The Chaplet of Saint Charbel
Bead by bead
What the chaplet is, how to pray it on the beads, and how it differs from the novena and the litany.
The Divine Mercy Chaplet
The 3 o'clock prayer
Saint Faustina's chaplet bead by bead, and the ancient Syriac Qadishat Aloho hidden in its closing words.
Saint Charbel Prayer in Arabic
صلاة مار شربل
The prayers as Lebanese families pray them, in Arabic script, with transliteration and English.
Prayer for the Sick
For someone you love
Prayers for a sick loved one, before surgery, and for those facing cancer, with Scripture for the vigil.
Saint Charbel Prayer Request
Sending your petition
How to write a petition, how requests reach Annaya, and what to do while you wait.
Novena to Saint Rafqa
9-Day Prayer
Nine days of prayer for healing and strength in suffering.
Novena to Our Lady of Lebanon
The 9-day prayer · free PDF
Nine days with the Lady of Harissa, from the cedar to the feast, with a printable PDF and day-by-day tracking in the app.
Novena to Saint Hardini
The 9-day prayer · free PDF
Nine days with the monk of Kfifan who taught Saint Charbel, ending on his feast of December 14.
Novena to Saint Maron
The 9-day prayer · free PDF
A complete novena drawn from the life of the hermit of the open sky, one day at a time, ending on his feast of February 9.
Saint Rafqa Prayer for the Sick
Patron of the sick
Prayers to the patron of the sick and of eye illness.
Maronite Prayer for Healing
The healing rite
Healing in the Maronite rite, the holy oil, and the saints.
Saint Charbel Prayer for Pregnancy
For mother & child
Prayers for conception and a safe pregnancy.
Saint Charbel Prayer for Depression
For mental health
Prayers in the darkness and for mental health.
Saint Charbel Prayer for Addiction
For recovery
Prayers for a loved one struggling and for recovery.
Prayer to Our Lady of Lebanon
Prayer & Novena
A prayer, consecration, and novena to Our Lady of Lebanon.
The Saints Behind the Prayers
Most Maronite prayers are tied to a saint whose life gave them their shape. Reading the life helps the prayer settle. The articles below offer short, carefully researched biographies.
Saint Charbel Makhlouf
1828 – 1898
The life behind the novena and the healing prayer, twenty-three years of silence and over a century of miracles.
Miracles of Saint Charbel
Documented cases
The healings and the holy oil. What has actually been recorded, and what the Church has recognized.
Saint Rafqa
1832 – 1914
A life of voluntary suffering, often prayed with in grief and illness.
Browse the full article library at charbel.app/blog. The Charbel app adds audio recordings of every prayer, in English, Lebanese Arabic, French, and Portuguese.