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Abouna Yaacoub Al
Kabbouchi Monday,
June 23, 2008
For the first time the
celebration was held outside the Vatican. Founder of
the Sisters of the Cross Society Father Yacoub Alkbouche
was declared beatified in a mass ceremony for the first
time outside the Vatican on Sunday, June 22 at the
Martyrs Square, headed by President of the Academy of
lawsuits Saints, Cardinal Jose Paulo Martins represented
Pope Penidictos XVI, and with the Maronite Patriarch
Cardinal Mar Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir. And chanting the
church bells at noon in all of Lebanon.
Abouna
Yaacoub Birth and Origins
Lebanon - Khalil
(Venerable “Abouna Yaacoub”) was born on February, 1,
1875 in the village of Ghazir from a father named
Boutros Saleh El-Haddad and a mother called Shams Yoakim
El-Haddad, both very pious and attached to Christian
virtues. “Abuna Yaacoub” says:
My mother taught
me: "Do everything and bear everything for the love
of God"; "My son, in tough times, pray with your
mother’s rosary"; "My faith is that of
Peter".
My father taught me to have: Realism,
integrity of opinion, along with a sense of humor and
some determination.
His Childhood
Khalil
was baptized at the Church of Our Lady of Habshieh on
February, 21, 1875. He grew up in his village Ghazir and
went to the parish school Saint Francis. Then he moved
to the Saint Louis School known as the “Mzar” School.
Afterwards, he joined the “La Sagesse” School in Beirut
from which he graduated in 1891. He was a very brilliant
pupil who was known for his piety and love for the
Virgin Mary.
He traveled to Alexandria in 1892
where he worked as a teacher in order to assist his
parents in raising his brothers and sisters. He was an
excellent instructor teaching his students virtues and
knowledge, and a pious young man who worshiped and
meditated on the life of Jesus Christ. There, he heard a
voice telling him to leave the world, hold the cross and
follow the Christ. So he said: "I shall be a priest".
When he came back to Ghazir, he prayed and strived
to convince his father of his Capuchin monastic call
when his wish was answered and he entered the Saint
Anthony Convent of the Capuchin Fathers in Khashbau on
August, 25, 1893. There, he was quoted as saying: "I
came in alive and I will only come out dead". He
remained in the Capuchin Seminary eight months during
which he worked in the garden of the monastery, taking
Jesus of Nazareth as an example, showing a tendency to
monastic life with the related virtues of poverty,
chastity and obedience, showing proof of a pure call for
monasticism, filled with the love of service and prayer.
The Novitiate
He entered the stage of
monastic novitiate while he was still at the Khashbau
Monastery to learn the track of monastic life and its
requirements of striving towards perfection and virtues.
On March, 26, 1894, he was given the robe of novitiate
and the name of Brother Jacob.
Brother Jacob the
Capuchin lived the novitiate with great conviction and
idealism. He became a good example in all his attitudes,
surrendering to the Providence and responding to the
will of his superiors with much obedience, joy, patience
and morality, always taking as an example "Anyone who
put his hand to the plough and then keeps looking back
is of no use to the Kingdom of God" (Lk 9/62). Each time
he felt difficulty or pain, he took refuge in the Cross,
taking the sanctity of his father Saint Francis of
Assisi as an example, using the virtues of the latter to
add to his joy in the monastic life, the life of the
Cross and the sanctity.
The monks voted
unanimously for the qualification of Brother Jacob for
receiving the vows. On April, 14, 1895, he took the
simple vow; three years later, he took the permanent
vows on April, 24, 1898.
His
Priesthood
Brother Jacob was transferred to the
Krey Monastery to continue his priestly studies that he
had started at the Saint Anthony Convent in Khashbau. He
was looking forward to reaching the day when he would be
celebrating the mass for the first time: "Lord, Please
allow me to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice only once and
then afterwards, if You decide to take me, I will accept
with consolation and happiness".
He was ordained
apostolic deacon (1899), and evangelical deacon (1900)
and on November, 1, 1901, he was ordained priest by the
Apostolic Nuncio in Lebanon and Syria, Monsignor Duval,
the French Dominican friar. He had his first mass at the
Saint Louis Church in Beirut (Bab Idriss). He came to
his village Ghazir to celebrate his second mass at the
Saint Francis altar, as a rewarding gesture for his
parents, brothers and sisters and the people of his
village.
Apostle of the People
“Abouna
Yaacoub” lived at the Beirut Monastery (Bab Idriss)
where he worked with seriousness, dynamism and
enthusiastic zeal. He got the appreciation of his
superior for his efforts in serving God, so the latter
oriented him towards missionary work. Then “Abouna
Yaacoub” went on building primary schools for boys and
girls in the villages of Lebanon for which he chose good
teachers worthy of such a noble mission.
“Abouna
Yaacoub” used to look after his schools himself; he used
to visit them on foot to check their affairs indifferent
to pain and tiredness. Moved by his fatherly apostolic
love, he took care of the preparation for the first
communion and taught the children personally how to be
prepared to receive the Eucharist. His contemporaries
testify that he used to hold spiritual festivals and
sacred processions of the Host or the Virgin Mary’s
icon. He used to take his students and the Tertiaries on
pilgrimage visits to the Virgin Mary’s sanctuaries
especially that of Our Lady of Lebanon. Besides the
school projects, “Abouna Yaacoub” established the Third
Order for men and women just like his father Saint
Francis. He spread its principles and rules in cities
and villages in 1906. He trained its members with
spiritual retreats, preaching and guidance; visiting
them on foot from one village to another, in order to
meet the members and incite them to be the good example
through behavior, attitude and prayer. This is what
ensured the spread, permanence and continuity of the
Third Order. He wanted them to be new apostles of the
Church of Christ and leaven in the Lebanese
communities.
Today this Third Order is still
spreading in our villages and cities, well protected by
the sanctity and prayers of its Founder, managed by an
elite group of lay people known for their piety, prayers
and faithfulness and taken care of by the Capuchin
friars.
“Abouna Yaacoub’s” missionary concern was
not restricted to his country but it was also about
Palestine, Syria and Baghdad. In addition, he was always
looking forward to visiting holy places in France and
Italy, so his superiors helped him go to France, then to
Rome where he had the chance to meet His Holiness, Pope
Pius X in 1910.
In 1914, World War I started and
his friends, the French priests, had to leave Lebanon so
he was entrusted by his superior Father Jerome with the
spiritual and material affairs of the mission, including
those of the convents of the European nuns. During that
fierce war, “Abouna Yaacoub” was subjected to many
dangers to his life but God was always there protecting
him from any danger and delivering him from every evil.
Apostle of Mercy in the Kingdom of the
Cross
“Abouna Yaacoub” had the dream of raising a
giant Cross on one of the hills of Lebanon, because he
had seen the disasters and tragedies that had affected
Lebanon during the war when thousands died of hunger,
were hung or exiled without a Cross being raised on
their tombs. He wanted that place to become an assembly
place for the Tertiaries to pray for the souls of those
who died during the war and for the emigrants.
As he was looking for a place to raise the
Cross, he was attracted by a hill in Jall-Eddib that
used to be called “hill of the djinns”. So he bought
that hill, not without difficulties, on August, 25, 1919
and he went on realizing the project relying on the
Providence and “widow’s cent”. “Abouna Yaacoub” waited
for the visit of the Superior General of the Capuchin
Order, Father Joseph Persisto, to erect the corner stone
and bless the project; it was on January, 19, 1921. And
the edifice grew, the Church was finished first, so it
was given the name of Our Lady of the Sea and was
inaugurated on May, 3, 1923 in presence of a big number
of Tertiaries. In it they put a statue of the Virgin
Mary holding little Jesus and a passengers’ boat at her
feet. Finally, on the west side of the Church a big
Cross was raised and the dream was realized, the dream
of “Abouna Yaacoub”.
He believed that the priest
is God’s ambassador or minister on Earth. Therefore, and
after the inauguration, he received on October, 4, 1926,
the first priest he found abandoned and left alone in
one of those hospitals to give him the opportunity to
finish his life with dignity in prayer and sanctity.
That priest was followed afterwards by other priests,
patients and disabled persons from different religions
and confessions. The place became too small so he opened
other centers for them. At that time, “Abouna Yaacoub”
really felt, deep in his heart, the dire need to
establish a monastic order that would take care of those
sick priests. So he initiated his big project relying on
the Providence with a small group of tertiary girls whom
he entrusted to the Franciscan Nuns of “Lons le Saunier”
to teach. They would later on become the Congregation of
the Lebanese Franciscan Sisters of the
Cross.
“Abouna Yaacoub” and the Personalities of
Lebanon
Due to his so many building activities
and projects, he had to be acquainted with the
consecutive governments and the personalities of
Lebanon. The Convent of the Cross was visited by many
personalities and officials, including the
following: President Emile Eddeh who granted him the
palm medal of Lebanese merit (on January, 5, 1938);
President Beshara El- Khoury who awarded him the golden
medal of Lebanese merit (on June, 2, 1949) then the
Lebanese cedars medal - officer degree (on November, 26,
1951); President Camille Chamoun who offered him, upon
his death, the Lebanese golden cedars medal (in June
1954). While he always used to say: "My medal is the
Cross".
Just as he was appreciated and honored by
the presidents of the republic, as well as helped and
supported by senior Lebanese personalities, including
for instance Prime Minister Sami Es Solh, Minister
Hikmat Joumblat, the Emir Majeed Arslane, Prime Minister
Omar Daouk, he was appreciated worldwide; newspapers in
Italy and Spain wrote about him praising the founding
Father and his generous humanitarian
projects.
“Abouna Yaacoub” and the Golden Jubilee
of Priesthood
In 1951, “Abouna Yaacoub”
celebrated fifty years of priestly life (1901). That
year, the Convent of the Cross was transformed from an
asylum to a hospital for mental and psychological
diseases, after official recognition by the Lebanese
government. The celebration was thus double and “Abouna
Yaacoub” was given the Lebanese cedars
medal.
“Abouna Yaacoub’s” Death
After
a life full of continuous struggle, “Abouna Yaacoub” was
finally struck by disease and sight shortage. When his
friend Father Dupré Latour told him about his true
health condition, he was happy because he was going to
meet his father in heaven. When his condition
deteriorated more, he said to the Superior General Mary
of the Cross Zougheib who was tending him and taking
care of him: "It is no longer necessary that you work
much for me, my daughter, you did your best, let me now
go and meet my Lord". He saw his death as going from one
room to another, he said: "I will be in heaven and I
will still help you … do not be afraid … I just ask you
to take care of the Sisters". Then he gave the nuns his
blessing and recommended to them love and
obedience.
On Saturday morning, June 26, 1954, he
said: "This is my last day". And he passed away holding
the Cross of the Lord, the beloved, among the tears of
the Sisters and prayers addressed to Jesus, Mary and
Joseph. It was three o’clock in the
afternoon.
“Abouna Yaacoub” lived eighty years of
harvest, struggle and virtues, and he died with the calm
and peace of the Saints.
His Funeral
The
news of the death of “Abouna Yaacoub”, the Capuchin
friar spread in Lebanon and the world. Everybody missed
him and thousands went to the Convent of the Cross to
take a blessing from him or to see him for the last
time. On Sunday morning, June 27, mass was celebrated in
presence of the representative of the Holy See, the
Apostolic Nuncio Monsignor Beltrami. The funeral was
attended by a mass of bishops, priests, monks and nuns,
as well as delegations from the Third Order and
believers. Prime minister, Speaker of the House,
ministers, deputies, notables, holders of official and
social positions. After the Gospel was read, Monsignor
Boulos Akl, “Abouna Yaacoub’s” old friend and class
companion made an oration that was appropriate to the
personality of the deceased and that described all his
qualities, values, kind acts and
projects.
Moreover, the Superior General, Mother
Mary of the Cross Zougheib received dozens of messages
of condolences from those in Lebanon and abroad, all
revealing the high position of the deceased, his
sanctity, his virtues and the spread of his projects,
including the letter by His Holiness, Pope Pius XII, the
letter by Patriarch Antoine Arida, and words from
President Beshara El-Khoury and General Fouad Shehab
Commander in Chief of the Army. Also, newspapers and
magazines displayed his actions and his personality with
much loyalty and appreciation.
“Abouna Yaacoub”
was buried near the altar at the new Church; where he
had said: "This hole will cause problems to you". In
fact, six months later, the Church authorities ordered
that his body be transferred to a place away from the
altar so that only the altar and the Host will be
honored. On April, 28, 1957, and in the presence of
many spiritual and non spiritual personalities and
masses of people who loved “Abouna Yaacoub”, a statue of
him was raised in the middle of the kingdom of love, the
city that was built on a mountain, so that he will
remain its beacon. Then, in 1979, it was transferred to
the entry of Jall-Eddib upon a demand made by the
municipality.
Publications by “Abouna
Yaacoub”
“Abouna Yaacoub” was interested in the
written apostolic aspect of his mission; he believed in
the effect of the word. In spite of his many occupations
and the requirements of his multiple and urgent
projects, he gave writing and publishing an important
part of his precious time. Among his
publications - The Friend of the Family magazine: He
founded it in 1913 and continued publishing it till
1939. He collected twenty-six volumes of this magazine.
He included in it research documents and valuable
articles in which he treated the issues of the family,
the society, the Church and the nation, in addition to
original stories full of lessons and morals. - The
Life of Saint Francis of Assisi (translation into Arabic
by one of the Capuchin missionaries – 1922). - The
Book of the Canticles for the Christians (fourth edition
- 1954, fifth edition - 1992). He says in the
introduction "…therefore, loyal to God and serving His
faithful children, we wanted to put these canticles for
every religious occasion, so that the believers can
express their faith and their living feeling by chanting
them in churches, while going for a walk, or when they
are lonely". - A play entitled: Mysteries of
Christmas (1909). - A booklet containing two
spiritual exercises for the Stations of the Cross on
Good Friday (25/3/1950). - The story of the Raising
of the Cross (1951). - Also there are about 8000
handwritten pages that have not yet been collected in a
book.
The Spirituality of “Abouna
Yaacoub”
“Abouna Yaacoub’s” personality was much
marked by relying on the Providence; he was even called
"the man of Providence". His trust in Providence
increased when he started the project of the Convent of
the Cross and all that he received from his superior was
his blessing; in fact, he contented himself with it
considering it as an expression of God’s blessing.
Hadn’t he been insistently pushed by his colleagues, he
would not have written to a benefactress in France. When
he received a letter from her containing one franc, he
was really astonished and he said to himself: "I deserve
it. God wanted to show me that He is the one and only
benefactor for this project. Since then, I have put in
Him alone my hope. To You God I ask and I am never
disappointed… As for the famous franc, I have just kept
it as a souvenir and as an unforgettable lesson". He
often repeated: "The Providence helped me… God took care
of me… God blessed my project… God’s Providence has no
limit… How strange it is that everything grows at the
foot of the Cross".
The Cross was indeed the
sweetness of his heart and the breath of his soul. He
was always calling for clearly making the sign of the
Cross to get protection. He used to practice the
exercise of the Stations of the Cross every day and he
made it one of the Sisters’ regular prayers. On Good
Friday, the believers gathered in the courtyard of the
Convent of the Cross to participate with “Abouna
Yaacoub” and the Sisters in the Stations of the
Cross.
“Abouna Yaacoub” used to hold the Cross
very willingly until it became his dear companion; he
also implored his daughters the nuns not to fear it. He
often repeated: "I myself have the Cross as a destiny",
"one ounce of a Cross is much better than a ton of books
of prayer", and maybe the dearest prayer to his heart
was: "O Cross of the Lord, so dear to the heart".
He used to begin his day with meditation
kneeling in front of the Host that he considered to be
the source of his strength and his success. He was
aspiring to honor it with the masses, and he so often
addressed it saying: "How I would prefer to take you in
procession throughout the streets rather than closing up
on you in the tabernacle". This is why he was always
using any feast or religious occasion in order to
organize processions and adorations. Very sad about
the indifference of people towards the Host, he said:
"The worst crime of our time is this moving away from
the Host. Without the Host, our Church would be empty,
cold and sad".
“Abouna Yaacoub” is a Marian
apostle; he had for the Virgin Mary a very special love
that marked all his life. He used to say: "Worshipping
Mary, no matter how sacred, is only the door leading to
Jesus. Mary is the means, Jesus is the end. Mary is the
road, Jesus is the destination". He also says: "…the
best way to guide women is through the example of Virgin
Mary: she is a virgin and a mother". He used to crown
his glorification of his pure Mother by saying the whole
rosary every day.
From this faith in the Cross,
the Host and the Mother of the Crucified, “Abouna
Yaacoub” was filled with the love for God and for the
neighbor. He followed the road of the mission and
revealed great talents in the fields of preaching and
mission. He was a pragmatic preacher speaking the right,
targeting the souls, only using easy and simple words.
We have so many examples of his preaching, in his
handwriting. They all witness the care he gave and the
serious interest he had in preparing each of his
homilies, even if they contained repetition of subjects
and ideas according to the frequent audience. Each
homily contains something that astonishes the reader,
even more so the listener, i.e. three other constant
elements that he never could do without: verses, events
and parables of the Bible, both Old and New Testaments;
sayings and examples from the Fathers of the Church, the
scholars of the spiritual and consecrated life, the
saints; and stories, lessons and practical experiences
of men of history or events from the contemporary daily
life. We can assert that those three constant elements
are contained in all his preaching and really constitute
the major sources from which “Abouna Yaacoub” drew the
essence of his special spirituality. After preaching, he
used to spend many consecutive hours in the confessional
to wash the souls and ease the consciences.
As
for his mission, he was known as the Apostle of Lebanon
of which he said: "Lebanon, the land of the fathers and
ancestors, is a piece of heaven that fell from the sky
to be a land for the Christ to walk on upon his advent.
Therefore, the Christ blessed Lebanon the day he visited
Tyre and Sidon and Lebanon became the real rock of faith
and the pure source of love". “Abouna Yaacoub” aimed at
strengthening faith in the hearts of his citizens, so he
tried to achieve this with much determination through
three major goals: - The necessity to save the
threatened faith: "Lebanon that now is planted with
thousands of castles is growing more and more beautiful
in appearance, while in the souls of its people, the
faith of their ancestors is waning more and more". -
The need to save faith through the family: "Any
awareness and educational action should include three
main elements: the children, the mothers and the
fathers". - The necessity to create a group of Gospel
witnesses: "This is the objective of spreading and
consolidating the Third Order in Lebanon: to find lay
witnesses for faith through a committed living of the
Gospel".
“Abouna Yaacoub's”
Legacy to his Daughters the Sisters of the
Cross Before his Death, at a Meeting with the
Superior Generals and their Council On May, 23,
1954, at the Convent of Our Lady of the
Well: How shall I leave you, my daughters? But
never fear, God is with you. My daughters , let
your deeds always be worthy of your congregation;
Draw strength from your father's spirit and
share it with your sisters. My daughters, you
and your quest for holiness are my only
concern. I wish you achieved perfection so I
can rejoice for you. Love one another; such is
my legacy to you, and such is indeed the key to
your success and perseverance; if you love one
another and are at peace with one another, you
shall not be defeated; Each one of you must be
ready to give up her life for her sister.
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