BEIRUT, Lebanon — His name, Nimattullah, means “God's blessing” in Arabic. To the Lebanese he is affectionately known as Hardini, a simple monk whose creed was “the wise man is the one who can save his soul.”

Blessed Hardini is scheduled to be canonized May 16 in Rome by Pope John Paul II. He will be the third Lebanese recognized as a saint by the Church, joining St. Charbel, canonized in 1977, and St. Rafqa, canonized in 2001.

“Lebanon has always been in a war or occupation, and yet its Christians have always survived,” explained Father Paul Sfeir, dean of the Pontifical Faculty of Theology at the University of the Holy Spirit in Kaslik, Lebanon, and author of a book about Blessed Hardini's life. “That is because of saints like Charbel, Hardini and Rafqa. They give hope to Lebanese Christians to hold on to their land and their religion.”

Blessed Hardini was born Joseph Kassab in 1808 in Hardine, a Maronite mountain village located above the Mediterranean coast toward the north of Lebanon. In those days, the Lebanese were typically referred to by their birthplace or their father's profession. Blessed Hardini adopted the name Nimattullah when he became a novice.

Blessed Hardini was one of seven children, four of whom entered religious life. Even as a young boy, the saint-to-be preferred solitude and would often pray for hours in a mountain cave.

His rigorous education included studies in mathematics, Arabic and Syriac, which is the liturgical language of the Maronite rite. Later he would urge all those who became priests to learn Syriac well to better appreciate the Mass.

Blessed Hardini yearned to consecrate his life to God, and at age 18 he entered the monastery of St. Anthony-Kozhaya. There he demonstrated his love of books through the art of bookbinding.

Blessed Hardini was ordained a priest at the Monastery of Sts. Justine and Cyprian in Kfifan at age 25. The Kfifan Monastery — about an hour's drive from Beirut — dates back to the seventh century and is the resting place of Blessed Hardini.

The young priest's “greatest love was for the holy sacrament of the Eucharist, where he spent numberless hours in adoration,” wrote Father Nimattullah Al-Kafri, who taught with Blessed Hardini at the Kfifan Monastery. “When he celebrated the Mass, he did it with a burning fever of love.”

In fact, Blessed Hardini's extensive preparation for Mass included daily confession and attending all the Masses of his brother monks. He would kneel straight, with his arms outstretched, as shown in the portrait by which he is known.

“I think the best example Hardini gives us is his commitment to Christian values in daily life,” said Father Miled Taraby, superior of the Kfifan Monastery. “Several times he held high positions within the monastery, knowing that even through responsibility he could sanctify his life.”

Blessed Hardini also instructed the novices at the Kfifan Monastery. Lebanon's first saint, St. Charbel, was one of Hardini's students. Like his teacher, St. Charbel is known for his devotion to the Eucharist and the Blessed Mother.

Miracles

“When I look at St. Charbel's picture and see his holiness, I think, if the student is like that, how much greater the teacher must be,” said Nariman Eliah of Jdeideh, Lebanon, whose 8-year-old daughter, Sarah, was healed of a cancer of the blood through Blessed Hardini's intercession five years ago.

Even while he was still living, Blessed Hardini was always known as “the saint of Kfifan” and was responsible for a number of miracles, including cures.

In 1858 at age 50, Blessed Hardini contracted pleurisy and never recovered. His last words, while holding a picture of Our Lady, were: “O Virgin Mary, between your hands I submit my soul.”

Those near him when he died witnessed a light illuminating his room and an aroma remained there for several days afterward. Immediately after his death, people began to visit Blessed Hardini's tomb to seek blessings and cures.

“If I could kneel and pray for the rest of my life and thank God for what he did for me, it still wouldn't be enough,” said Andre Najm of Balouni, Lebanon, who experienced a miraculous cure of leukemia through Hardini's inter-cession in 1987. His cure was officially recognized by the Council of Saints in Rome, through which Hardini was declared blessed in 1998.

Najm, 21 at the time, saw specialists in Lebanon and in Paris to no avail. A bone-marrow transplant was not an option for the only child.

“I was dying,“ Najm explained, “and so my father got on his knees and prayed and said, ‘I want to do a campaign for God’ [petitioning local churches, convents, neighbors and strangers on the street] asking everybody to pray for me.”

A neighbor suggested they go to Hardini's tomb. Two busloads of pilgrims accompanied the dying young man, who was on a stretcher. Upon arriving, he kneeled in agony before the tomb pleading, “I beg you, Jesus, to give me one drop of blood from the Eucharist.”

“Right away, I felt a heat in my body, then peace and joy from the inside. That's the only way I can describe it,” Najm recalled. “At that moment, I stood up and began running all over the place. I felt like a bird freed from its cage.”

Najm's next visit to the hospital revealed he was completely cured.

Today, the 37-year-old and his wife, Rola, have their own triad: Rebecca, 11 (which means “Rafqa” in Arabic); Charbel, 8; and Maria, 4 (who would have been named Nimattullah had she been a boy).

Father Taraby said he expects tens of thousands of pilgrims to visit Blessed Hardini's tomb throughout the weekend of his canonization. Activities include processions from neighboring churches to the Kfifan Monastery as well as from St. Rafqa's and St. Charbel's tomb followed by an all-night vigil to stay up with Blessed Hardini on the eve of his canonization.

The Maronite Church celebrates Blessed Hardini's feast day Dec. 14.

Doreen Abi Raad writes from Bikfaya, Lebanon.