- 02
- July
- 2025
This summer, from July 11 to 13, Meigh in County Armagh will host a landmark gathering for Catholics across Ireland and the United Kingdom: the first-ever Saint Charbel Conference.
Organized by the Family of Saint Charbel Ireland, the event invites participants into a rich journey of Maronite mysticism, ancient liturgy and devotion to Lebanon’s beloved saint.
The Maronite Divine Liturgy will be chanted in both Aramaic, the language of Christ, and English. Traveling all the way from Lebanon, Maronite monks will lead services both solemn and intimate, offering Irish worshippers a rare encounter with one of the oldest Christian rites still practiced today.
Complementing the liturgies is an extraordinary relic exhibition, featuring over 200 first-class relics from saints spanning the apostolic age to modern mystics. Throughout the conference, these sacred objects will be available for veneration, inviting moments of personal prayer, healing and profound spiritual encounter.
The conference's spiritual and theological framework will be shaped through talks by an international roster of speakers, including Lebanese, Irish, American and Filipino clergy and lay leaders.
Structured for spiritual depth and communal linkage, the weekend’s schedule includes an opening session on Friday evening, followed by a full day of liturgy, veneration, talks, adoration, confession and vendor activities on Saturday, and concluding with prayerful reflection and liturgy on Sunday. With tickets priced at €50 and available exclusively through pre-registration, the organizers stress early booking due to limited seating and the absence of on-site sales.
The unfolding of this conference signals more than a local religious gathering, it marks a deepening exchange between Eastern and Western Catholic expressions in Ireland. Organizers describe it as “a moment of grace for our nation,” bringing Maronite chant, silence, symbolism and relic spirituality into Irish hearts for the first time. It arrives at a moment when devotion to Saint Charbel, canonized in 1977 and renowned as a miracle worker, is experiencing renewed interest, not only in Middle Eastern contexts but increasingly across Europe and North America.
To his followers, Saint Charbel represents the hidden life of holiness, rooted in silence, fasting and prayer. Born Joseph Makhlouf in 1828, he became a monk and hermit, living in solitary devotion until his death in 1898. While not widely published, his life inspired countless testimonies and overseas miracles linked to his incorrupt body and intercessory power.
In Lebanon, annual pilgrimages to Saint Charbel’s hermitage draw thousands, particularly around his feast day in July, often including overnight vigils, outdoor processions and Eucharistic celebrations.
Bringing this spiritual tradition to Irish soil for the first time is a significant gesture of ecclesial unity, faith exploration and mystical deepening. Organizers emphasize that the conference is not merely educational but sacramental and experiential, designed to foster encounters with God through silence, relic reverence and liturgical beauty.
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