Esțfān Nehmé (born Yūsuf Nehmé, ; 8 March 1889 – 30 August 1938), was a Lebanese

Maronite Maronites (; ) are a Syriac Christianity, Syriac Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant (particularly Lebanon) whose members belong to the Maronite Church. The largest concentration has traditionally re ...

professed religious from the

Lebanese Maronite Order The Baladites, formally known as the Lebanese Maronite Order (; abbreviated OLM), is a monastic order among the Levant-based, Catholic Maronite Church, which from the beginning has been specifically a monastic Church. The order was founded in 1 ...

. Nehmé worked to alleviate people's pain during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

through the distribution of food to those suffering from famine and was known for an intense devotion to the

Mother of God ''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are or (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are "Mother of God" or "God-bearer ...

. He worked in the fields of his convent and other monasteries and also worked in construction for a brief period, he became well known and other monasteries sought him to live with them for his spiritual insight and work ethic. Nehmé was beatified on 27 June 2010 in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Life

Yūsuf Nehmé was born on 8 March 1889 in Lehfed in

as the last of seven children to Estephanos Bou Haykal Nehmé and Christina Badawi Hanna Khaled. He had three male siblings and two female siblings. He was

baptized Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...

on 15 March 1889 at the church of Our Lady in Lehfed; it was Father Gerges Fadel that baptized him. His father died in 1903. Nehmé studied under the

at the Our Lady of Grace school in Sakii Rishmaya. A tale from his childhood reports that he once observed a

badger Badgers are medium-sized short-legged omnivores in the superfamily Musteloidea. Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by their squat bodies and adaptions for fossorial activity rather than by the ...

enter a cave; Nehmé dug at that spot and unearthed a spring which is known at present as the "Badger's Fountain". In 1905 he entered the

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

of the

at the

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

of Saints Cyprian and Justina in Kfifan. Nehmé made his monastic vows on 23 August 1907 in the name of Esțfan. He made his solemn vows as a professed religious on 13 April 1924. At various monasteries he did manual labor in the fields and gardens as well as working in construction and as a carpenter. Nehmé's contemporaries made special note of his constant repetition of the mantra: "God can see me". During

he distributed food to those suffering from

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenom ...

. Nehmé died of a severe fever that led to a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

at 7:00 p.m. on 30 August 1938 at the convent in Kfifan. Moments before his death Brother Charbel Nehmeh asked him if it would be fine to fetch water and the monk replied Nehmeh could do so if he wanted. The monk died mere moments after as his fellow friar searched for water. His remains reside at the convent of Saints Cyprian and Justina has been said to have been found

incorrupt Incorruptibility is a Catholic and Orthodox belief that divine intervention allows some human bodies (specifically saints and beati) to completely or partially avoid the normal process of decomposition after death as a sign of their holiness. I ...

. Monks investigating the tomb on 10 March 1951 found that his remains had not decomposed. The remains were moved to a new tomb where visitors seek his intercession and ask for his healing.

Beatification

The beatification process started in a diocesan process that spanned for several weeks from 27 November 2001 until 17 December 2001 while the formal introduction came under

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

on 16 January 2002 after the

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, passi ...

issued the official "

nihil obstat (Latin for 'nothing hinders' or 'nothing stands in the way') is a phrase traditionally used by Catholic Church authorities to formally declare that there is no objection to the publication of a book. It also has other uses. Publishing The ...

" to the cause and titled him as a

Servant of God Servant of God () is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression ''Servant of God'' appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...

. The C.C.S. later validated the diocesan process in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

on 26 April 2002 and received the

Positio A ''positio'' (short for the Latin ''positio super virtutibus'': "position on the virtues") is a document or collection of documents used in the process by which a Catholic person is declared Venerable, the second of four steps on the path to can ...

in 2005 for assessment.

Theologians Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

met and approved the cause on 2 March 2007 as did the C.C.S. members on 16 October 2007 which in turn allowed for

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

to name him as

Venerable ''The Venerable'' often shortened to Venerable is a style, title, or epithet used in some Christianity, Christian churches. The title is often accorded to holy persons for their spiritual perfection and wisdom. Catholic In the Catholic Churc ...

on 17 December 2007 upon the confirmation of his

heroic virtue Heroic virtue is the translation of a phrase coined by Augustine of Hippo to describe the virtue of early Christian martyrs. The phrase is used by the Roman Catholic Church. The Greek pagan term hero described a person with possibly superhuman a ...

. The process for a miracle took place where it originated in and later received C.C.S. validation on 14 February 2003 before receiving the approval of the medical board in Rome on 1 October 2009. Theologians later assented to this on 16 December 2009 as did the C.C.S. on 16 March 2010 before

approved the miracle and beatification on 27 March 2010. Nehmé's beatification took place in

on 27 June 2010,

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Angelo Amato Angelo Amato, Salesians of Don Bosco, S.D.B. (8 June 1938 – 31 December 2024) was an Italian Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints between 2008 and 20 ...

presided over the celebration on the pope's behalf. The miracle in question was the cure of Sister Marina Nehmeh from

osteosarcoma An osteosarcoma (OS) or osteogenic sarcoma (OGS) is a cancerous tumor in a bone. Specifically, it is an aggressive malignant neoplasm that arises from primitive transformed cells of mesenchyme, mesenchymal origin (and thus a sarcoma) and that exhi ...

. The President and the Prime Minister of the nation were both in attendance as were 50 thousand other people. The current

postulator A postulator is the person who guides a cause for beatification or canonization through the judicial processes required by the Catholic Church. The qualifications, role and function of the postulator are spelled out in the ''Norms to be Observed i ...

assigned to this cause is the Rev. Boulos Azzi.

External links

Hagiography CircleOfficial websiteSaints SQPNSanti e Beati

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nehmé, Stephen 1889 births 1938 deaths 20th-century venerated Christians 20th-century Lebanese people Beatifications by Pope Benedict XVI Eastern Catholic monks Incorrupt saints Lebanese beatified people Lebanese Maronites People from Byblos District Venerated Catholics by Pope Benedict XVI