Did You Know?
Nimutallah al Hardeeni (A
New Member of the Choir of Maronite
Saints)
Was Ordained by BISHOP SEMAAN ZOUEIN
Nimutallah Kassab al-Hardeeni. Courtesy of the
Lebanese Maronite Order (Lebanon, 2004)
Youssef
Kassab Lebanon, ca. 1810. His father was Gerges Kassab, and his
mother Mariam Raad, daughter of Reverend Yousef Yacoub. His
brothers were 'Assaf, Elias, Tanious, Yacoub and his sisters
Masihieh and Mariam. His brother Elias became Father Lesha', the
Hermit at Qozhaya, and later at 'Annaya where he died. Father
Sharbel replaced the late Father Lesha' at the hermitage in
'Annaya.
Nimutallah became
a novice at Saint Anthony's Monastery in Qozhaya in the Holy
Valley of Qannoubine ca. November 1830. He took monastic vows ca.
November 1832. After completing his theological studies at the
Monastery of Saints Yostina and Keprianos (Saints Justine and
Cyprian) in Kfifan, he was ordained a priest by
Bishop
SEMAAN ZOUEIN in December ca.1835.
Between
1835 and 1838, he served at the Monastery of Kfifan where he
instructed children and assisted at baptisms and in celebrating
the Eucharist. He assumed the duties of Assistant General of the
Lebanese Maronite Order three times, in 1845-1847, 1850-1853 and
1856-1858.
He
continued to work at bookbinding even when he was Assistant
General and taught at various schools of his Order. Among his
students was Brother Sharbel Makhlouf (Saint Sharbel) who studied
under him from 1853 to 1858.
Father
Nimutallah al-Hardeeni died of an incurable illness at the
Monastery in Kfifan on December 14, 1858. Beside him at his bed
when he died was his spiritual mentor Father Daniel Becherrani who
was the maternal uncle of Saint Sharbel of Bekaa-Kafra. Father
al-Hardeeni was buried at the Monastery in Kfifan according to
monastic tradition.
Several
miracles led to the transferal of his body, the sealing of his
tomb and then the submission of his cause for Beatification to the
Apostolic See in Rome on May 4,
1926.
He was
declared Venerable on September 7, 1989. At the behest of his
Beatitude Patriarch Nasrallah Peter Sfeir, his body was examined
and placed in a new coffin on May 18, 1996. His body was recently
transferred to a new coffin made of cedar and placed in the
Monastery of Kfifan where people may
visit.
Several
cures have taken place through his intercession. These include the
raising to life of a Muslim child whose mother claimed had died,
the healing of a person with a neurological disease, the
restoration of sight to a blind person and the curing of a person
suffering from cancer.
Pope John
Paul II will beautify Nimutallah al-Hardeeni at Saint Peter's
Basilica in Rome on Sunday May 10, 1998. The Maronite Church
celebrates his feast day on the 14th of
December. |