Saint Charbel Feast Day (July 24)
Saint Charbel Makhlouf has two feast days, and both are correct. In the universal Roman calendar of the Catholic Church, his feast falls on July 24 every year. In the Maronite liturgical calendar, the feast is kept on the third Sunday of July, a movable date that varies from year to year. In 2026, the Maronite feast falls on Sunday, July 19.
Most Maronite parishes observe both days: the principal sung liturgy on the third Sunday, and smaller commemorations on July 24. Pilgrims to the Monastery of Saint Maron in Annaya, where Saint Charbel lived as a hermit and where his tomb continues to draw millions, converge across the last two weeks of July for the novena, the vigils, the outdoor Divine Liturgy, and the blessing of the sick.
When Is Saint Charbel's Feast Day?
The Universal Church: July 24
In the Roman calendar used across the Latin rite and by most of the Catholic world, Saint Charbel's feast day is a fixed date: July 24. This is the date his feast was assigned when it was added to the universal calendar after his canonization by Pope Paul VI in 1977. It is the date printed in Catholic ordos, on saint-day calendars, and on the feast pages of liturgical missals around the world.
The Maronite Calendar: The Third Sunday of July
The Maronite Church, being in communion with Rome but keeping its own Antiochene Syriac rite, preserves the older local custom of celebrating Saint Charbel on the third Sunday of July. Placing the feast on a Sunday allowed the whole community to gather, and the summer setting made outdoor liturgies and long pilgrimages possible. The Maronite Sunday feast continues to be the principal celebration in Lebanon and in most diaspora parishes. For more on how the Maronite year is structured, see our guide to the Maronite liturgical calendar.
When the Maronite Feast Falls in the Coming Years
Because the Maronite feast is tied to the third Sunday of July, the date shifts slightly each year:
- 2025 — Sunday, July 20
- 2026 — Sunday, July 19
- 2027 — Sunday, July 18
- 2028 — Sunday, July 16
- 2029 — Sunday, July 15
- 2030 — Sunday, July 21
The universal feast, July 24, does not move.
Why July 24, and Not the Day He Died?
Saints are usually commemorated on their dies natalis, the day of their death, understood as their birth into eternal life. Saint Charbel died on December 24, 1898, Christmas Eve, after a stroke during the elevation of the Eucharist at Mass on December 16. But Christmas Eve was already one of the most solemn days of the Church year, anchored by the vigil of the Nativity. A saint's feast could not displace it.
The Maronite Church, long before his beatification, had kept his memorial on the third Sunday of July. When Rome accepted his feast into the universal calendar in 1977, it chose a nearby fixed date: July 24. The choice honored two things at once. It sat one day after the anniversary of his priestly ordination on July 23, 1859, and it fell in the Lebanese summer when the outdoor Divine Liturgy at Annaya and the long pilgrimage roads through the mountains are at their most accessible.
So the Church keeps his memory three times a year: at the anniversary of his death on Christmas Eve (privately, within the Christmas season), on the third Sunday of July in the Maronite calendar, and on July 24 in the universal calendar.
The Nine Days Before the Feast: The Novena (July 15–23)
The traditional Novena to Saint Charbel is prayed for nine consecutive days ending on the eve of the feast. The classical dates are July 15 through July 23, closing on July 23 so that the intention is laid before Saint Charbel the night of his ordination anniversary, on the vigil of the feast.
The novena can be prayed alone or with family, in church or at home, in English, Arabic, French, Portuguese, or any language. Many pilgrims combine it with the traditional Saint Charbel Prayer for Healing, offered with a vial of oil blessed at Annaya.
How the Feast Is Celebrated at Annaya
The center of the feast is the Monastery of Saint Maron at Annaya, where Saint Charbel lived the last 23 years of his life and where his tomb remains. Every year in the week before the feast, roads fill with pilgrims arriving on foot, in cars, and on buses from every region of Lebanon and from parishes throughout the diaspora.
The monastic community welcomes an all-night vigil on the night of July 21, when the Lebanese Maronite Order permits pilgrims to remain in prayer inside the monastery through the night, with candles, quiet adoration, and the rosary. The vigil closes at dawn with the Divine Liturgy.
On the feast itself, the principal Divine Liturgy is celebrated outdoors in the great square in front of the basilica to accommodate the crowds. The Maronite Patriarch or a senior bishop presides, and the Liturgy is sung in Syriac and Arabic. Afterward, pilgrims file past the tomb, are blessed with the holy oil, and receive small cotton pieces soaked in oil to take home.
The preserved cell of Saint Charbel in the hermitage above the monastery is opened to the public. Pilgrims walk the path up the hillside to see his habit, his bed of planks, his chains, and the altar where he said his last Mass.
Celebrating the Feast at Home
Not every Maronite lives within reach of Annaya. The feast can be kept anywhere. A few traditional practices:
Light a candle. Many families light a candle before an image of Saint Charbel on the night of July 23 (the eve) and keep it burning through the feast day.
Pray the novena. The nine-day novena, begun July 15, closes on the eve of the feast. A specific intention for the year is entrusted to Saint Charbel's prayers.
Attend Maronite Mass. If a Maronite parish is within reach, join the Sunday or July 24 Divine Liturgy. If not, attend Mass in any Catholic rite; the feast is in the universal calendar.
Anoint with the holy oil. If you have a vial of oil from Annaya, anoint yourself and members of the family with a small mark on the forehead, in the form of a cross, with a short prayer for intercession.
Keep silence. Saint Charbel's own gift was silence. Some families set aside an hour on feast day for silent prayer in his honor. The silence of Annaya can be kept anywhere.
Read his life. Read aloud from a short life of the saint or an account of his miracles with the family. Children remember the stories; adults remember why they started praying.
The Feast in the Maronite Diaspora
Maronite communities around the world keep the feast with the same warmth as Lebanon, with their own flavor.
In Brazil, where the Lebanese diaspora numbers in the millions, parishes in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro hold bilingual Portuguese-Arabic Liturgies on the Sunday feast, followed by festivals with Lebanese food, music, and Dabke dancing late into the night. In the United States, the Eparchies of Saint Maron of Brooklyn and Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles organize feast-day celebrations at their cathedrals, with pilgrimages from surrounding parishes.
In France, the Maronite community in Paris, Marseille, and Lyon holds the Sunday Liturgy at Notre-Dame du Liban in Paris. In Australia, tens of thousands gather at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harris Park, Sydney, for what is often the largest Maronite feast-day gathering outside Lebanon. In Canada, the Eparchy of Saint-Maron of Montréal holds a central feast-day liturgy, with parishes across Quebec and Ontario joining in.
A Short History: From Death to Universal Feast
The path from a hermit's death on a cold December night in 1898 to a feast in every Catholic missal took seventy-nine years.
December 24, 1898: Saint Charbel dies at the hermitage of Saints Peter and Paul above Annaya after eight days of agony from a stroke. He is buried in the monastic cemetery without a coffin.
April 15, 1899: After months of reports of a mysterious light over the grave, the body is exhumed. It is found intact and exuding a reddish oil.
1925–1954: Successive ecclesiastical and medical examinations confirm the prolonged incorruption and the continuing flow of oil from the tomb. The first reported miracles begin to accumulate.
December 5, 1965: Pope Paul VI beatifies Charbel at the close of the Second Vatican Council, citing two Vatican-recognized healings from 1950.
October 9, 1977: Pope Paul VI canonizes Charbel at a public Mass in Saint Peter's Square, on the strength of a further miracle (the 1967 healing of Mariam Assaf Awad from metastatic cancer).
After 1977: The feast is inserted in the universal Roman calendar on July 24. The Maronite Church retains its traditional third-Sunday-of-July observance alongside the new universal date. See the full list of documented miracles for the chronology.
The 22nd of Each Month: A Monthly Feast
Beyond the annual feast, a monthly pilgrimage day has grown up at Annaya: the 22nd of every month. The date traces to the reported healing of Nohad El Shami in January 1993. She awoke on the morning of January 22 with two scars on her neck and her paralysis healed, after a dream in which she said two monks, one of them Saint Charbel, had performed a kind of operation on her during the night. In thanksgiving, she and others began gathering at the hermitage on the 22nd of each month. The practice has spread to Maronite parishes around the world, with many holding a special Mass, rosary, and anointing on the 22nd. It has, in effect, become a monthly small feast of Saint Charbel.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is Saint Charbel's feast day in 2026?
Saint Charbel's feast day falls on July 24 in the universal Roman calendar every year. In the Maronite liturgical calendar the feast is kept on the third Sunday of July, which in 2026 is Sunday, July 19. Most Maronite parishes observe both days, with the principal liturgy on the third Sunday.
Why is Saint Charbel's feast day on July 24?
Saint Charbel died on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1898, a date already occupied by the Vigil of the Nativity, so another date was needed. July 24 was chosen because it sits one day after the anniversary of his priestly ordination on July 23, 1859, and because the Lebanese summer permits outdoor Liturgies and pilgrimage to Annaya. It was added to the universal Roman calendar after his canonization in 1977.
What do Maronites do on Saint Charbel's feast day?
The feast is kept with the Divine Liturgy (Qurbono), the blessing of the sick, anointing with the holy oil of Saint Charbel, outdoor processions, and in many parishes a sung litany. In Lebanon, tens of thousands of pilgrims travel to Annaya for an overnight vigil and an outdoor Mass. In the diaspora, parishes hold festive liturgies, family gatherings, and blessings with oil brought from the tomb.
Can non-Maronites celebrate Saint Charbel's feast day?
Yes. Saint Charbel is venerated across the Catholic Church and widely beyond it. Roman Catholic, Melkite, Coptic, Syriac, and other Eastern Catholic parishes observe his feast. Many Orthodox and Protestant Christians honor him privately, and in Lebanon and across the Middle East, Muslims and Druze pilgrims visit his tomb at Annaya, especially on feast day. No one is turned away.
Why do pilgrims visit Annaya on the 22nd of every month?
The monthly pilgrimage on the 22nd traces to the reported healing of Nohad El Shami on January 22, 1993. According to her account, two monks, one of them Saint Charbel, appeared in a dream and performed a kind of incision on her paralyzed neck, after which she was healed. In thanksgiving, she and others began gathering at the hermitage on the 22nd of each month. The practice has spread to Maronite parishes around the world.
See also: Saint Charbel Makhlouf. The miracles of Saint Charbel. List of documented miracles. Novena to Saint Charbel. Saint Charbel Prayer for Healing. Annaya Monastery. Maronite liturgical calendar. Visual Maronite calendar. Saint Maron.