Feast Day March 23rd
Saint Rafqa, also known as Saint Rebecca, was born Hanneh Maroun in 1832 in the northern Lebanon village of Bqosta.
The eldest of six children, Hanneh grew up in a devout Christian family. As a young woman she felt called to religious life and refused an arranged marriage. She entered the Sisters of Mercy Convent in Beirut.
She took the name Rafqa, which means “little lamb.” She dedicated her life to God through prayer, silence, sacrifice, austerity, service to others, and teaching young girls who wished to join her congregation.
Saint Rafqa spent much of her life caring for the sick and the poor. She became known for compassion and devotion to suffering people. She spent long hours in prayer and intercession.
In 1871, Saint Rafqa suffered a serious illness that left her blind and paralysed. Despite this, she remained cheerful and peaceful, offering her suffering for the salvation of others. She continued to serve the sick and poor and held strong devotion to the Eucharist.
On March 23, 1914, after a life of prayer, service, and long suffering, Saint Rafqa died while calling on Mary and Saint Joseph. She was canonised in 2001 and is the patron of the sick and the disabled.
O Christ Our God, we ask You to keep Saint Rafqa as a leaven of holiness for our convents and monasteries, and for our families. May she be a living example for everyone who suffers, the disabled, the blind, and the sick, so they carry Your Cross with love and joy.
Help us to follow her example and become instruments of love and mercy to those in need, so Your name may be glorified and praised, now and forever. Amen.