WAXHAW — Hundreds of people turned out to venerate a relic of St. Sharbel, a 19th century Lebanese monk, at St. Matthew Church and the Maronite Mission of Charlotte June 4 and 5.
The faithful attended several Masses in honor of the relic's visit to Charlotte, including a Maronite Mass celebrated June 5 at St. Matthew's Waxhaw campus.
The famous hermit's relic, taken from one of his bones, was encased in a small reliquary secured atop a large wooden box that is a replica of his coffin. About 200 people, mostly from the Lebanese community, waved white handkerchiefs to welcome the relic as it was processed into the church for the start of the Maronite liturgy. It was placed in front of the altar during the Mass, which was offered by the Maronite mission's pastor, Father Elie Mikhael.
A Maronite priest from the Eparchy of St. Maron of Brooklyn, which encompasses 16 states including North Carolina, Father Elie has served as the pastor for the Maronite Mission of Charlotte since December.
"The presence of the saints among us is to strengthen our faith – to set up our hearts in the right place and destiny," Father Mikhael noted in his homily. "Saints come to us and remind us to lift up our hearts to the Lord."
"Saints among us remind us that life's cycle for believers starts with life, goes through death, to resurrection and eternal life," he said.
"St. Sharbel comes to us today as a humble monk," he added. "Sharbel didn't write books; didn't preach at cathedrals or big churches; didn't use emails, Facebook, or web pages, or Snapchats or WhatsApp to reach out to people. He knew how to whisper in God's ears, and put his heart into God's hands. And (he) was able from his monastery to reach out, not only to people around him, but to people from around the world."
St. Sharbel Makhlouf was born on May 8, 1828, in Biqa-Kafra, northern Lebanon. Joseph, his baptismal name, was the last of the five children born to a poor but devout family. He left home when he was 23, entering the Monastery of St. Maron at Annaya. Ordained a priest in 1859, he was noted for his devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. He lived as a hermit, but his reputation for holiness caused people to seek him out. He died on Christmas Eve in 1898, and was buried in the monastery's cemetery.
Soon after his death, an extraordinary bright light surrounded his grave for more than a month. Because of this phenomena and its many witnesses, officials at the monastery requested permission from Church authorities to exhume the body. His corpse, which was found without decay four months after his death, and had been secreting sweat and blood, was transferred into a special coffin. Hordes of pilgrims started visiting the monastery and asking for his miraculous intercession.
For 67 years St. Sharbel's incorrupt remains exuded a fluid described by all accounts as supernatural in nature. When he was beatified in 1965, his remains were found to have decayed until only his bones were left, and the mysterious fluid ceased. However, nough had been collected before his beatification to furnish a supply from which small quantities are still distributed. Small pieces of cloth from St. Sharbel's garments and those that were saturated in the fluid are likewise distributed. St. Sharbel was canonized in 1977.
St. Sharbel's relic has been touring Maronite churches on the East Coast since February, and including stops in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Maine. Charlotte was the last stop on the tour.
— Rico De Silva, Hispanic Communications Reporter
SALISBURY — Five thousand miles away, students in a village in western Ghana are using a new computer lab. Patients suffering from malaria and skin infections are getting treatment. And everyone in town is grateful to the people of Sacred Heart Church and School, who reached across the miles with their hearts and their hands to help them.
Butre is a small fishing village nestled amid the sparkling white beaches of the Gulf of Guinea and the tropical rainforests that cover much of Africa’s west coast.
The Sacred Heart parish and school began serving this impoverish community several years ago and has developed a close relationship with the local pastor. According to Sacred Heart’s Principal Frank Cardelle, this “Ghana Friendship Mission Project” is all about living the Gospel.
“One of the fundamentals of our mission statement at Sacred Heart Catholic School includes teaching the importance of community service to our students,” Cardelle said. “We stress the unselfish dedication of time, talent, resources and prayer to those who are less fortunate. Class work is not all ‘talk.’ Our students participate in many community service projects throughout the school year, with our Ghana mission project lasting over 10 months.”
In June, 12 people including Cardelle made the 5,300-mile trek from Salisbury to Butre, bringing medical and school supplies collected over the past school year. The missionaries traveled in two mission trips June 4-10 and June 17-24. Father Noah Carter from Our Lady of Grace in Greensboro, the former parochial vicar of Sacred Heart Church, led the spiritual part of the mission team.
The first trip was led by Sacred Heart parent and hospitalist Dr. Matt Harrison and critical care nurse Jeffrey Motes, both from Novant Health Rowan Regional Medical Center; and Harrison’s daughter Rachel, a rising junior at Christ the King High School and 2014 Sacred Heart alumnus.
Harrison and Motes have both served in Ghana before – Harrison has made seven medical mission trips, and Motes one trip last year. The trip was conducted in partnership with Helping Hands Medical Missions.
The medical team went door to door, visiting homes built from handmade bricks and mud, searching for the sick and offering prayer and support.
They diagnosed and treated many tropical diseases such as malaria, elephantiasis, parasitic intestinal infections and skin infections. They counseled on nutrition, healthy drinking water and other community health concerns. They supplied medicines for pain, infection, allergy, hypertension and a host of other problems.
They traveled to three different villages – setting up temporary clinics in schools and even outdoors under pavilions – seeing more than 1,300 patients in five days.
“Every day was absolutely amazing and life changing,” said Harrison’s daughter Rachel. “We traveled to help serve and convert, promoting the Catholic faith through evangelization and assisting of the needy.”
The second group of Sacred Heart mission workers followed on June 17, bringing with them bookbags, school supplies, refurbished computers and iPads, and soccer uniforms and balls that had been collected by Sacred Heart students over the past school year.
The missionaries included Cardelle’s daughter Cecilia, a 2013 alumnus of Sacred Heart and a rising senior at Salisbury High School. She spent all last year raising money and collecting items for the mission trip, which she called “a privilege.”
“The experience was nothing short of life-changing,” she said.
“The people of Butre are truly like no other. To say that my father and I were welcomed with open arms is an incredible understatement. From the very first day, the townspeople, the school children, the teachers and even city officials accepted us with great hospitality and kindness.”
They worked at the Butre primary school for five days donating book bags, school supplies and setting up a computer lab composed of 10 laptops, four iPads and a projector.
“Our primary role was to set up the lab and train the teachers on how to use the interactive learning applications, Microsoft applications on the laptops, and the interactive projector. Eventually, we trained the students to do the same,” Cecilia explained.
“The gratitude that my dad and I received after completing the lab was unparalleled,” she added. “On our last day in Butre, the town held a dedication to thank us for the work we did. The celebration was full of life and rich in culture – a truly extraordinary experience.
“During our stay, the Butre people were nothing short of grateful for our work, but by the end of our trip I felt like I should be thanking them. The things that we were able to donate to those students can be measured in dollars, but the things those students gave to me was priceless.”
Cecilia has made the Ghana Friendship Mission part of her senior project at Salisbury High School. And the missionaries aim to return next year as well as establish relationships in the area to ensure ongoing medical care for the Ghanaian people they felt so privileged to serve.
— Robin Fisher, Special to the Catholic News Herald. Robin Fisher is the communications director of Sacred Heart School.
Learn more
At www.hhmm.org: Get more information on how to join or donate to these missions at the Helping Hands Medical Missions website. Contact Sacred Heart School at 704-633-2841 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to donate school supplies, book bags or computers in nice condition.