Saint Joseph Monastery (Tomb of Saint Rafca), Jrabta, Caza Batroun, Lebanon.
The Monastery of Saint Joseph, Saint RAFQA’s Tomb, lies at 350 meters altitude
on the plateau known as ad-Dahr at the foot of Mount Jrabta, in the Batroun
area, North Lebanon.
One of the nuns who stand out in the history of the monastery was Sister RAFQA
(1832-1914), who bore terrible suffering with patience and resignation. After
her death, a number of miracles occurred through her intercession and the
earth of her Tomb has become a source of divine grace and many remarkable
cures.
St. Rafka was born in Himlaya, one of the villages of northern Metn, in, 1832,
the only child of a poor family. After becoming a nun of the Lebanese Maronite
Order, she began to suffer excruciating migraines, the pain of which extended
to her eyes. Tragically, an attempted treatment for her disorder resulted in
the loss of one of her eyes but did nothing to alleviate the pain she was
already suffering.
Later in life, she went completely blind and her body began
to deteriorate severely. Only the faculty of her hands remained to her, and
she continued to knit clothing despite her handicaps.
In spite of all her
lifelong hardship, St Rafka’s faith was unshakable. She died in 1914, and Pope
John Paul II declared her a saint in 2001.
The mother Superior of the monastery of Saint Simon the Stylites - al-Qarn,
in Aito, a village situated at 1,150 meters above sea level, in a region known
for its severe winter climate, sent one of her nuns, Sister Ursula Doumit, who
was suffering from rheumatism, to spend the winter in her home village of Maad.
Father Ignatius Doumit al-Maadi, a brother of Sister Ursula, suggested
building a monastery for the nuns. He reached agreement with Father John
Basbous al-Maadi, who as early as 1865 had built a school in the village of
Jrabta. By this agreement, Father Basbous donated the school and its property
and Father Ignatius assumed financial responsibility for the construction of a
new monastery in the region to be given to the Order of the Lebanese Maronite
Nuns.
On February 29, 1896, Patriarch John Haje (1890-1898) granted his approval and
work on the new building began in March. On August 15, 1897, Father Martin (Martinos)
Shemali, Superior General (1895- 1899) of the Lebanese Maronite Order,
accepted the bequest.
This monastery, which bore the name of Saint Joseph ad-Dahr, was intended for
the nuns. On October 22, 1897, Patriarch John Haje confirmed the pious legacy
and the monastery was given to the Order.
On November 3, 1897, six nuns from the Monastery of Saint Simon the Stylites,
al-Qarn, including Sister Ursula Doumit and Sister Rafqa Shubuq al-Rayees
(Saint Rafqa) of Himlaya were transferred to the new monastery of Saint Joseph
and Thus the monastery was canonically established.
The six nuns led a contemplative cenobitic life. With the help of monks from
the Lebanese Maronite Order they planted olive, fig trees and vines. They also
devoted themselves to certain forms of manual work, such as weaving and the
making of liturgical vestments. Vocations to the religious life in the
monastery flourished. Since the foundation of the monastery the sisters
continue to be actively engaged in their mission of prayer and work.
Sister Rafqa (1832-1914), who bore terrible suffering with patience and
forbearance, stands out in the history of the monastery. After her death, a
number of miracles occurred through her intercession and the earth of her tomb
has become a source of divine graces and of many remarkable cures.
In 1926 the Order petitioned the Vatican for her beatification. Her reputation
spread widely and the faithful flocked to the place of her burial seeking
relics and her intercession.
On November 17, 1985, Pope [Saint] John Paul II (1978 ... 2005) proclaimed the
beatification of Sister Rafqa and her Canonization on June 10, 2001, and the
monastery became a well-known sanctuary throughout the world.
On May 24, 1949, the Order decided to build a rest home, adjacent to the
monastery, for elderly monks. Starting in 1980 elderly lay people were also
admitted to the rest home and the nuns transformed one of the rooms into a
free medical dispensary for the region.
In August of 1987, ninety years after they had taken over the monastery, with
the encouragement and advice of Father Emmanuel Khoury, Superior General of
the Lebanese Maronite Order, (1992 – 1993), the nuns decided to build a new
two story-wing as an extension to the old monastery.
Built on a mountainside at Jrabta in Lebanon, this imposing structure is
designed to give the impression of a ship - its roof appearing to form a
continuation of the surrounding hillside.
The challenging design of the roof, as a one-way slab resting on concave
beams, included spans which averaged
around 32 m and a concave shape with variable sectional geometry. As a
consequence, the weight of the beams would have proved to be problematic and
would have yielded large flexural effects. The CCL design team responded to
these challenges with a series of innovative solutions. Voided sections
allowed the reduction of beam self-weight while providing efficient inertia.
Pot bearings were used at beam-column joints to act as a pinned connection
without transferring any moment to the column, while temporary sliding
bearings
let the beams displace under post-tensioning, shrinkage and self-weight
deformation. The locking of the bearing for the final stage secured the beams
laterally. The PT tendons were stressed prior to casting the slab, in order to
maximise pre-compression in the beam, the sequencing of the post-tensioning
within the beam itself. The other other beams helped to introduce the post-
tensioning in a gradual manner. Displacement monitoring was carried out to
allow validation of design equations in the case of complex slab geometry
