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.
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