An Elected Soul

In her teenage, Saint Rafqa's desire was to live in religious seclusion, away from the world, completely devoted to the Lord. She wanted to find Christ. Her own words in 1912 witnessed her burning fervor:”I wanted to make a noble use of my life, I wanted to give Christ all my heart, He alone is bigger than my heart”.

The question of her future and destiny was imminent and it was worrying her. She confided to her spiritual father, the priest Youssef Gemayel, asking him:”What should I do to get in contact with the living God?”

Father Youssef knew pretty well that Boutrossiyé had a genuine divine call, he also knew that this call was her ultimate desire, and he had a good feeling about it, for he knew well that the young girl had observed strictly the commandments of the Lord. She wanted to be faithful to her heart, she was totally pure. Her conscience was perfectly clean and she never failed in any of her religious duties.

The Priest Gemayel was delighted to discover this elected soul. His thoughts were constantly with her pure creature which had the perfume of sanctity. He considered her to be a consolation from Christ and he did not hesitate to advise Boutrossiyé to join a feminine congregation which takes care of the education of young ladies.

Young Boutrossiyé understood him well, her heart was overwhelmed with joy. She was now hearing the Call  better, and it was becoming even better, day after day. She remained under the watchful eyes of father Gemayel.

The Town of Bikfaya

The Christ represented for her an ideal with an incomparable beauty, he showed her the radiant horizon and enlightened for her the way towards monastic life. She joined the monastery of the Mariamites in Bikfaya.

The Flower of Lily

Besides her moral beauty, Saint Rafqa was of a rare physical beauty. According to Moussa Khayrallah’s wife from Jran:”she had a rounded face with very beautiful eyes, she was a tall girl and had a thin but strong body.” She was very meek and cheerful, her smile was pure and her voice was gentle. She had a very modest life, but her thoughts were noble, her words were chaste and all her acts were immaculate.

Church of Our Lady of Deliverance, Bikfaya

On some occasions during Sundays and feast days, she went to the church of Our Lady of Deliverance in Bikfaya. She confessed to her spiritual father, the man of God, the priest Youssef Gemayel. With a touching simplicity she confessed to him all her difficulties and desires. She asked him for advice concerning the salvation of her soul and the future of her spiritual life.

Her encounter with Father Gemayel could be considered as a precious providential gift that was given to her from the Most High for the sanctification of her soul. In fact the priest Gemayel was like her guardian angel, he was always present, and he guided her and supported her all the way on her path of virtue. Father Gemayel was a rare and exceptional kind of man, his firm character and his meekness of behavior made of him the exemplary priest, he represented all the holy virtues of priesthood.

Boutrossiyé was indeed a young orphan, but Father Youssef used to strengthen her with his spiritual advice and prepared her to listen to the voice of Jesus. He gave her the assurance that Our Lady will save her from evil, that she was her true mother who is watching over her, and that she was not alone.

On the other hand, father Youssef Gemayel was noticing Boutrossiyé’s strong aspirations for God and her ardent desire to realize them. She often asked him :”What should I do?” and her spiritual father who used to call her “the lily of Himlaya” knew very well that she was longing for God and that she was dreaming to see Jesus face to face and to contemplate him eternally.

Saint Rafqa's Second Ordeal

“A while after my mother’s death, my father got remarried”

In 1847, When Boutrossiyé’s father brought her back from Damascus where she had spent four years working as a maid, she was fifteen years old. Her mother’s death which has hit hardly the little family and which has taken her by force out of her home, has also created in the husband’s heart a heavy cross of frustration, responsibility, fear and loneliness. Saber Al Rayess could not bear the separation, his widowhood gave him a deep feeling of isolation, he got married for the second time. His second wife gave birth to two daughters: Mary and Kafa.

An old house in the village of Himlaya, very similar to
Saint Rafqa's parental house

Young Boutrossiyé was shocked and suffered a lot from the new situation inside the family, but she excused her father and understood his difficulties and she respected her stepmother and helped her a lot.

But very soon the atmosphere in the family was disturbed once again. Saint Rafqa told her superior in 1912:”When I reached fifteen years, my stepmother wanted to marry me to her brother, and my maternal aunt wanted me for her son. The disagreement between the two women on my subject, has created a very negative atmosphere of dislike and enmity between them.” 

Boutrossiyé prayed without ceasing, and repeated constantly the psalm of David:”In you Lord I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness; Keep me free from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge.” (Psalm 30)

Nevertheless, this conflict pushed Boutrossiyé to withdraw herself to a convent, as she told her Superior in 1912:”One day I was coming back from the fountain with a jar of water, I heard my stepmother and my aunt arguing, they were insulting each other and exchanging harmful words because of me. Each of them wanted to marry me according to her wish. I was very impressed and deeply moved as I was the reason for this hostility. So I stayed on the sidelines and I asked God to deliver me from this embarrassment. Then afterwards I had the idea of joining the religious order.”

Saint Rafqa has suffered a lot, in her body and in her soul, but she never lost her sovereignty over herself. Life with its difficulties have tried her soul on many occasions, but the waves of temptation always broke up and vanished in front of her absolute trust in Divine Mercy, and she always prevailed.



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Saint Rafqa: Maid in Damascus

Between 1839 and 1842 during the rule of Emir Bashir, a regional war took place in Lebanon. It was a very severe conflict having political and economical impacts, it was also a civil war between Lebanese people of different religions. In 1841 the Egyptian army was driven by force outside Lebanon and Syria, and Emir Bashir was exiled to the island of Malta.

The economic situation became very difficult in Lebanon, especially in the Christian areas of Mount Lebanon, and the Metn area more specifically, areas that came under the ferocious rule of Ibrahim Basha.

In 1843, little Boutrossiyé was eleven years old when her father’s financial situation became so deteriorated that he decided to send her with his friend Assaad El Badwi to Damascus, Syria to work for him in his house as a maid.

An old picture of Al Marjeh square in Damascus, Syria

She stayed for four years, serving her masters with so much devotion and loyalty, living the words of Saint Paul who recommended all servants to be:” a model of loyalty, piety and purity.” Mrs. El Badwi was extremely nice to her and she treated her like a daughter, she gave her maternal tenderness and provided her with an excellent education. Boutrossiyé used to send all of her salary to her father in Lebanon to help him.

During her stay in Damascus, Boutrossiyé learned how to serve others. She earned the trust and respect of all those who knew her. Everybody admired her piety, her many virtues and her intelligence. People were also fascinated by the strong will that she had, and by her love to others and to God.



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Saint Rafqa's First Communion

Little Boutrossiyé was overwhelmed with joy when she learned that she was called to be sitting for the first time at the “table of the angels” to receive her first communion. She was preparing herself ardently for the event, the heart of the little girl was burning with divine love and she was consumed with joy and fulfillment. Boutrossiyé was ten years old when she received her first communion.

The church of Saint George in the village of Himlaya

Her soul who always liked to be alone, understood very well the meaning of the Holy Eucharist. Since her deep understanding of the importance of this Holy sacrament, she was longing for the day when she will be honored by her first encounter with Christ through the Holy Communion. She was eager to experience God’s love and to return this love with her innocent devotion and pure love.

Many have testified about Saint Rafqa’s life, and all have agreed upon the fact that even in her early years, she remained faithful at all times to her Christian beliefs. She was deeply attached to her faith that she considered to be the only truth, she was firmly committed to Jesus as she understood quite well that he was the way and the truth and the life.

A year after her first communion, little Boutrossiyé received the sacrament of confirmation at the Saint George church at the parish in Himlaya. She has kept the same innocence that she had on the day of her baptism, and she never broke nor even loosened her strong ties with the Lord.

Around the same period, she was sent to school. She put all her efforts in her studies. After school she used to return immediately back home without stopping or giving any attention to children games of her age. She was the exemplary student with her frankness, meekness and her absolute obedience.

The graces received by the little girl were the first signs of the particular Divine plans for her. With her continuous prayers and personal encounters with Christ through the Holy Eucharist, she became resolved to sanctify herself perfectly for Jesus.


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Saint Rafqa's First Ordeal

Saint Rafqa’s life began with a great ordeal: the loss of her mother. It was a devastating blow for little Boutrossiyé who loved her mother immensely and saw in her the ideal of her life. The mother was at the centre of Boutrossiyé’s life and has sacrificed a lot for her dear and unique child. She was the spiritual and human tutor of her daughter.

Old houses in Himlaya, very similar to Saint Rafqa's family house

Unfortunately the mother passed away after a grave illness. It was a huge frustration for Boutrossiyé who became a seven years old orphan. She found herself cruelly alone and abandoned, it was a deep wound which affected all her life and caused her an incurable and lifetime pain. It was the great upheaval.

But even though her little age and the difficulties of life, Boutrossiyé accepted God’s will. She loved the Holy Virgin from the bottom of her little heart, her sorrow made her become attached more than ever to the Mother of God, who became her only mother.

This unfortunate death and the events that followed were the main reason behind the orientation of the little child towards monastic life. The World has become a place of suffering for her and she began to dream about heaven, where God will wipe every tear from her eyes, and where there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.

A Praying Nature

Saint Rafqa’s story begins at Himlaya, a small Lebanese village in the Casa of Metn in Mount Lebanon, around 30 km from Beirut, and 5km from Bikfaya. Like many other Lebanese villages, Himlaya embraces the mountain and witnesses the history of the tough and holy mountains of Mount Lebanon, home of the Maronite Martyrs and Saints. It is also the native village of Cardinal Mar Beshara Boutros Al Rahi, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East.

The Village of Himlaya

It was Thursday, on the eve of the holy vigil of Saint Peter and Paul on the 29th of June 1832 when her mother gave birth to her. Eight days after her birth and according to the old Maronite habits she was baptized and was named Boutrossiyé (Pierrette). Her mother saw in her a gift from heaven, her joy was immeasurable seeing the fruit of her womb becoming the daughter of the Most High by her baptism.

Very little is known about Boutrossiyé’s parents. Her father’s name was Saber Shoboq Al Rayess and her mother’s name was Rafqa Gemayel. Despite their simplicity, her parents understood the importance of Christian education, therefore her father’s house was like a church. Boutrossiyé learnt from her pious parents the love of prayer and the attachment to the acts of piety.

Her parents were like the first priests who showed her the right way. They used to pray at home in the morning and in the evening, they went to the Holy Mass every Sunday and Feast day, and participated to all liturgical celebrations at the church of Saint George in Himlaya. At that time churches were divided into two parts by a metallic grid, the first part was at the front, next to the altar, and was reserved for men, and the second part at the back for women. Little Boutrossiyé was always with her mother, looking at her, trying to imitate her words, prayers and acts, kneeling down with her and striking her breast as a sign of contrition.

Every Wednesday and Friday she used to extend her little arms and recite the penitential psalm 51:”Have mercy upon me, O God”. The good example of her parents was the best school for her and she received human and Christian education. She learned simple but smart practices and was surrounded by love and respect to others, which contributed to the blossoming of her character and her personality. Her parents taught her the importance of making sacrifices and she acquired with time a very strong will.

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